Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/263

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
SHIPS AT SEA.
245
            Come home.
Come to the hearthstone of thy earlier days,
 Come to the ark, like the o'erwearied dove,
Come with the sunlight of thy heart's warm rays,
 Come to the fireside circle of thy love.
           Brother, come home.

            Come home.
It is not home without thee; the lone seat
 Is still unclaimed where thou wert wont to be;
In every echo of returning feet,
 In vain we list for what should herald thee.
           Brother, come home.

            Come home.
We've nursed for thee the sunny birds of spring,
 Watched every germ a full-blown floweret rear,
Saw o'er their bloom the chilly winter bring
 Its icy garlands, and thou art not here.
           Brother, come home.

            Come home.
Would I could send my spirit o'er the deep,
 Would I could wing it like a bird to thee,
To commune with thy thoughts, to fill thy sleep
 With these unwearying words of melody,
           Brother, come home.

Ships at Sea.
I have ships that went to sea
 More than fifty years ago,
None have yet come home to me,
 But keep sailing to and fro.
I have seen them in my sleep
Plunging through the shoreless deep,
With tattered sails and battered hulls,
While around them screamed the gulls,
        Flying low, flying low.

I have wondered why they stayed
From me sailing round the world,
And I've said, "I'm half-afraid
That their sails will ne'er be furled."

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.