Good Bye
Their voyage done, the fleet that plowed
Together o'er the main
Spread their broad sails and sped away,
No more to meet again.
And one shall dance o'er tropic seas
And under splendid skies
And float like a dream through purple haze
And the sunset's golden dyes,
Or swim in a glory of amber light,
Under the mellow moon
And drink the odors that steal on the night
From the zone of eternal June!
And anchored at last by the beautiful isles
That garland those tranquil seas,
Shall fold her white wings and fall asleep
In the hush of an endless peace.
And one shall go forth in the pride of her strength,
With the northern blast to play,
Where the storm bird shrieks o'er the billowy waste
In a driving mist of spray,
And the spume-flakes fly from the plunging prow
Far down on the whistling wind,
And blend their snows with the foamy wake
That follows far behind!
And the sullen gloom of the brooding sky
Hangs low its awful pall
And darkness the tossing world beneath
Where the winking foam-crests crawl!
The thunder peals and the good ship reels
Under the tempest's swell,
And the lightning glares on the murky night
Like the fateful fires of hell!
Ah, woe to the ship and woe to the crew!
(Watcher, pour thy tears like rain!)
For they shall go down in the storm and the night,
And be seen no more of men!
Lo, other ships of that parted fleet
Shall suffer this fate or that:
One shall be wrecked, another shall sink,
Or ground on treacherous flat.
Some shall be famed in many lands
As good ships, fast and fair,
And some shall strangely disappear,
Men know not when or where.
As the years roll on, the parted may catch
Glimpses of former mates
Fading away on Ocean's verge
Where night on the gloaming waits:
But never, ah never, while Time shall last
Shall they greet again on Ocean's waste
Or by the friendly shore,
The goodly fleet that endured so long
In sisterly concord, calm and storm
Is parted forevermore!
You cannot but read my riddle aright —
'Tis well!
Let one pass strangely out of sight,
His mate go down in storm and night:
Sail YOU in tropic seas of light —
Together o'er the main
Spread their broad sails and sped away,
No more to meet again.
And one shall dance o'er tropic seas
And under splendid skies
And float like a dream through purple haze
And the sunset's golden dyes,
Or swim in a glory of amber light,
Under the mellow moon
And drink the odors that steal on the night
From the zone of eternal June!
And anchored at last by the beautiful isles
That garland those tranquil seas,
Shall fold her white wings and fall asleep
In the hush of an endless peace.
And one shall go forth in the pride of her strength,
With the northern blast to play,
Where the storm bird shrieks o'er the billowy waste
In a driving mist of spray,
And the spume-flakes fly from the plunging prow
Far down on the whistling wind,
And blend their snows with the foamy wake
That follows far behind!
And the sullen gloom of the brooding sky
Hangs low its awful pall
And darkness the tossing world beneath
Where the winking foam-crests crawl!
The thunder peals and the good ship reels
Under the tempest's swell,
And the lightning glares on the murky night
Like the fateful fires of hell!
Ah, woe to the ship and woe to the crew!
(Watcher, pour thy tears like rain!)
For they shall go down in the storm and the night,
And be seen no more of men!
Lo, other ships of that parted fleet
Shall suffer this fate or that:
One shall be wrecked, another shall sink,
Or ground on treacherous flat.
Some shall be famed in many lands
As good ships, fast and fair,
And some shall strangely disappear,
Men know not when or where.
As the years roll on, the parted may catch
Glimpses of former mates
Fading away on Ocean's verge
Where night on the gloaming waits:
But never, ah never, while Time shall last
Shall they greet again on Ocean's waste
Or by the friendly shore,
The goodly fleet that endured so long
In sisterly concord, calm and storm
Is parted forevermore!
You cannot but read my riddle aright —
'Tis well!
Let one pass strangely out of sight,
His mate go down in storm and night:
Sail YOU in tropic seas of light —
Translation:
Language:
Reviews
No reviews yet.