III + 

See! + 

Ashur-ban-i-pal, + 

the archer king, on horse-back, + 

in blue and yellow enamel! + 

with drawn bow⁠—facing lions + 

standing on their hind legs, + 

fangs bared! his shafts + 

bristling in their necks! + 

Sacred bulls⁠—dragons + 

in embossed brickwork + 

marching⁠—in four tiers⁠— + 

along the sacred way to + 

Nebuchadnezzar’s throne hall! + 

They shine in the sun, + 

they that have been marching⁠— + 

marching under the dust of + 

ten thousand dirt years. + 

Now⁠— + 

they are coming into bloom again! + 

See them! + 

marching still, bared by + 

the storms from my calendar + 

—winds that blow back the sand! + 

winds that enfilade dirt! + 

winds that by strange craft + 

have whipt up a black army + 

that by pick and shovel + 

bare a procession to + 

the god, Marduk! + 

Natives cursing and digging + 

for pay unearth dragons with + 

upright tails and sacred bulls + 

alternately⁠— + 

in four tiers⁠— + 

lining the way to an old altar! + 

Natives digging at old walls⁠— + 

digging me warmth⁠—digging me + 

sweet loneliness⁠— + 

high enamelled walls. + 