The Bride of Abydos 2-17
  
CANTO THE SECOND.

XVII.

"All this, Zuleika, harshly sounds;
But harsher still my tale must be:
Howe'er my tongue thy softness wounds,
Yet I must prove all truth to thee.
I saw thee start this garb to see,
Yet is it one I oft have worn,
And long must wear: this Galiongee,
To whom thy plighted vow is sworn,
Is leader of those pirate hordes,
Whose laws and lives are on their swords;
To hear whose desolating tale
Would make thy waning cheek more pale:
Those arms thou see'st my band have brought,
The hands that wield are not remote;
This cup too for the rugged knaves
Is fill'd - once quaff'd, they ne'er repine:
Our Prophet might forgive the slaves;
They're only infidels in wine!

George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron (1788-1824) ByronLong