Recompense

Though now but an old ruined city
Deep buried in sorrow and tears,
Which broods 'mid a whispering silence
Of other, and happier years;

Though only the lap of a wavelet
Break gently the stillness and gloom
Where moss-covered cornice and tower
Loom stark 'neath the pale tropic moon;

Though only the curl of a palm frond
Reflecting the stars' eerie light,
Replies to the sigh of the Trade Winds
And echoes the silence of night;

Though now but a tombstone to glories
And hopes of a day long gone by,
Old Panama, agéd but ageless,
Lives on -- while the centuries die!

From: Ravelings From A Panama Tapestry by Sue Core
Illustration by Esther Alethea Richards
North River Press, Inc., New York, N.Y.m 1933
Reprinted June, 1942

CZBrats
October 3, 1999