Theocritus on Agradina

THE spacious cities hummed with toil;
The monarch reared his towers to the skies;
Men delved the fruitful soil
And studied to be wise.
Along the highway’s rocky coil
The mailèd legions rang;
Smiling unheeded mid the moil
The Poet sang.

The glittering cities long are heaps;
The starry towers lie level with the plain;
The desert serpent sleeps
Where soared the marble fane.
The stealthy, bead-eyed lizard creeps
Where gleamed the Tyrant’s throne;
That grandeur dark Oblivion steeps,
The song sings on.