In an old and foreign land,

Years gone by, and unknown hand

Pointed where the temples stand

At flames seen afar.

Torches blazed on high and low

Tossed and gleaming, all aglow

Through the shaking winds that blow,

Glowing like a star.

Men made frenzied by the sight

Ran to find the dancing light

Flaming in the black of night,

And hundreds went away.

All night long, the old ones said,

They followed where the flicker led,

On and on, till night was dead.

None came back at day.

In that far and olden clime

Even to this present time

In the temples sad bells chime By a golden stream,

came back who fled that day,

No young blood will ever stay

When lights call half a world away,

A beckoning and dream.