Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/240
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
222
ON SAILING.
When the yellow moon beaming on high,
Shone tranquilly bright on the wave,
And careered through the vast and impalpable sky,
Till she found in the ocean a grave,
And dying away by degrees on the sight,
The waters were clad in the mantle of night?
Shone tranquilly bright on the wave,
And careered through the vast and impalpable sky,
Till she found in the ocean a grave,
And dying away by degrees on the sight,
The waters were clad in the mantle of night?
'Twould impart a delight to thy soul,
As I felt it imparted to mine,
And the draught of affliction that blackened my bowl,
Grew bright as the silvery brine.
I carelessly lay on the deck,
And listened in silence to catch
The wonderful stories of battle or wreck
That were told by the men of the watch,
Sad stories of demons most deadly that be,
And of mermaids that rose from the depths of the sea.
As I felt it imparted to mine,
And the draught of affliction that blackened my bowl,
Grew bright as the silvery brine.
I carelessly lay on the deck,
And listened in silence to catch
The wonderful stories of battle or wreck
That were told by the men of the watch,
Sad stories of demons most deadly that be,
And of mermaids that rose from the depths of the sea.
Strange visions my fancy had filled,
I was wet with the dews of the night;
And I thought that the moon still continued to gild
The wave with a silvery light.
I sunk by degrees into sleep,
I thought of my friends who were far,
When a form seemed to glide o'er the face of the deep,
As bright as the evening star,
Ne'er rose there a spirit more lovely and fair,
Yet I trembled to think that a spirit was there.
I was wet with the dews of the night;
And I thought that the moon still continued to gild
The wave with a silvery light.
I sunk by degrees into sleep,
I thought of my friends who were far,
When a form seemed to glide o'er the face of the deep,
As bright as the evening star,
Ne'er rose there a spirit more lovely and fair,
Yet I trembled to think that a spirit was there.
Emerald green was her hair,
Braided with gems of the sea,
Her arm, like a meteor, she waved in the air,
And I knew that she beckoned to me,
She glanced upon me with her eyes,
How ineffably bright was their blaze,
I shrunk and I trembled with fear and surprise,
Yet still I continued to gaze;
But enchantingly sweet was the smile of her lip,
And I followed the vision and sprang from the ship.
Braided with gems of the sea,
Her arm, like a meteor, she waved in the air,
And I knew that she beckoned to me,
She glanced upon me with her eyes,
How ineffably bright was their blaze,
I shrunk and I trembled with fear and surprise,
Yet still I continued to gaze;
But enchantingly sweet was the smile of her lip,
And I followed the vision and sprang from the ship.
'Mid the waves of the ocean I fell,
The dolphins were sporting around,
And many a triton was tuning his shell,
And ecstatic and wild was the sound!
The dolphins were sporting around,
And many a triton was tuning his shell,
And ecstatic and wild was the sound!