Muriel A.E. Brown
Chenar Leaves: Poems of Kashmir (1921)
Mrs. Percy Brown
Published by Longmans,Green and Co (London) in 1921
September 6, 2015
Pari Mahal ! Strange and romantic name
Bestowed by folk-lore on this ancient pile
Above the Dal Lake’s shore: I rest awhile
And glance above – below each line the same
Limned on the bosom of the lake: the fame
Of elfin deeds I’ve heard, of fairy guile
Luring lone wanderers here for many a mile,
Their very soul and bodies then to claim.
A breath of wind and lo! the pictures’s gone,
What wizard scene then have I gazed upon?
The ruin hoar remains, its sad stern brow
O’erhangs the shining lake in frowning gloom,
Deserted – brooding lone – its mystic doom
I’ll flee! Lest speel malign befall me now.