Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/292
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OVER THE SEA.
Remember me, in courtly hall and bower;
And when thou kneel'st at some fond beauty's shrine,
Ask of the past, if through life's varying hour,
Its joy and griefs, her love can equal mine!
And when thy youthful hopes are most excited,
Should she prove false, and break her faith with thee,
Think of the hopes thy wayward love hath blighted,
And from that lesson learn to feel for me!
And when thou kneel'st at some fond beauty's shrine,
Ask of the past, if through life's varying hour,
Its joy and griefs, her love can equal mine!
And when thy youthful hopes are most excited,
Should she prove false, and break her faith with thee,
Think of the hopes thy wayward love hath blighted,
And from that lesson learn to feel for me!
Remember me; and oh! when fate hath 'reft thee
Of fame and fortune, friends and love, and bliss,
Come back to one thou know'st would ne'er have left thee,
And still but chide thy falsehood with a kiss!
But no, no, no, I feel that life is waning—
That what I was I never more can be—
That I am fast on that sweet haven gaining,
Where there is rest for e'en a wretch like me!
Of fame and fortune, friends and love, and bliss,
Come back to one thou know'st would ne'er have left thee,
And still but chide thy falsehood with a kiss!
But no, no, no, I feel that life is waning—
That what I was I never more can be—
That I am fast on that sweet haven gaining,
Where there is rest for e'en a wretch like me!
Remember me! thou canst not, sure, refuse me
The only boon from thee I've sought, or seek;
Soon will the world, with bitter taunt, accuse me,
Yet make no blushes on my bloodless cheek!
But I would have thee tender to my fame,
When I have 'scaped life's dark tumultuous sea;
And, howsoe'er unkinder spirits blame,
As what thou know'st I was Remember me!
The only boon from thee I've sought, or seek;
Soon will the world, with bitter taunt, accuse me,
Yet make no blushes on my bloodless cheek!
But I would have thee tender to my fame,
When I have 'scaped life's dark tumultuous sea;
And, howsoe'er unkinder spirits blame,
As what thou know'st I was Remember me!
Over the Sea.
Over the sea, over the sea,
Lies the land that is loved by me:
A sunnier sky may be over my head,
And a richer soil beneath my tread,
And a softer speech in my ears be rung,
Than the notes of my own wild mountain tongue;
But never, oh, never, so dear to me
Can the loveliest spot in this wide world be
As the bleak, cold land, where the heather waves
Round the place of my birth, o'er my fathers' graves.
Lies the land that is loved by me:
A sunnier sky may be over my head,
And a richer soil beneath my tread,
And a softer speech in my ears be rung,
Than the notes of my own wild mountain tongue;
But never, oh, never, so dear to me
Can the loveliest spot in this wide world be
As the bleak, cold land, where the heather waves
Round the place of my birth, o'er my fathers' graves.
Ocean is wide, and his storms are rude,
And my heart feels faint in its solitude,
To think of the terrible gulf that lies
Betwixt me and all that my soul doth prize;
And I gaze for hours on the measureless deep,
Till my heart could break, though I cannot weep,
And my heart feels faint in its solitude,
To think of the terrible gulf that lies
Betwixt me and all that my soul doth prize;
And I gaze for hours on the measureless deep,
Till my heart could break, though I cannot weep,