Andrew Barton Paterson

A Grain of Desert Sand

Beneath the blue Egyptian skies,
With ramp and roller, guide and stay,
I saw the Pyramids arise
And I shall see them pass away.

I watched when Alexander passed;
I saw Napoleon’s flag unfurled –
The greatest and perhaps the last
Of men whose footsteps shook the world.

To each his hour of pride and place,
Arab and Persian, Greek and Jew;
Mahomet trod upon my face,
Darius spurned me with his shoe.

And yet I am not Priest or Kin,
Sultan or chief in high command.
I am that one unchanging thing,
A grain of desert sand.