Classic Poem

I

As o'er the deep the seaman roves
— With cloud and storm above him,
Far, far from all the smiles he loves,
— And all the hearts that love him,
'Tis sweet to find some friendly mast
— O'er that same ocean sailing,
And listen in the hollow blast
— To hear the pilot's hailing.

II

On rolls the sea! and brief the bliss,
— And farewell follows greeting;
On rolls the sea! one hour is his
— For parting and for meeting;
And who shall tell, on sea or shore,
— In sorrow or in laughter,
If he shall see that vessel more,
— Or hear that voice hereafter?

III

And thus, as on through shine and shower
— My fickle shallop dances,
And trembles at all storms that lower,
— And courts all summer glances,
'Tis very sweet, when thoughts oppress
— And follies fail to cheer me,
To find some looks of loveliness,
— Some tones of kindness, near me.

IV

And yet I feel, while hearts are gay
— And smiles are bright around me,
That those who greet me on my way
— Must leave me as they found me,
To rove again, as erst I roved,
— Through winter and rough weather,
And think of all the friends I loved,
— But loved and lost together:

V

And scenes and smiles, so pure and glad,
— Are found and worshipped only
To make our sadness seem more sad,
— Our loneliness more lonely; —
It matters not! a pleasant dream
— At best can be but dreaming;
And if the true may never beam,
— Oh! who would slight the seeming?

VI

And o'er the world my foot may roam,
— Through foreign griefs and pleasures,
And other climes may be my home,
— And other hearts my treasures;
But in the mist of memory
— Shall time and space be cheated,
And those kind looks revived shall be,
— And those soft tones repeated!

VII

Believe, — if e'er this rhyme recall
— One thought of him who frames it, —
Believe him one who brings his all
— Where Love or Friendship claims it;
Though cold the surface of his heart,
— There's warmth beneath the embers;
For all it hopes, it would not part
— With aught that it remembers!