Ode to a Ring

Ho! Brown and queer One,
Your silver band is broken —
When will Arabian sand, wind-driven,
Sift over all the Pyramids?
Old, erudite, Egyptian thing
Your silver band is broken.

Ho! Foolish One,
You fell on an old carpet in two halves
Forgetting all the heavy dignity
Of untold centuries.
Are you as dead as the dust-driven fingers of
Egyptian kings you held encircled?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Come, I will have you mended
And place you carefully on my finger
Where the sun
Will pour swift, living color over every part
Whenever I desire.

                 ~Edgar T. Herrmann, c.1916