HIS LIGHT Gray mist on the sea,And the night coming down,She stays with sorrowIn a far town.He goes the sea-waysBy channel lights dim,Her love, a true light,Watches for him.They would be weddedOn a fair yesterday,But the quick regimentSaw him away.Gray mist in her eyesAnd the night coming down:He feels a prayerFrom a far town.He goes the sea-ways,The land lights are dim;She and an altar lightKeep watch for him. THE COUNTERSIGN Along... more...

A SON OF THE SEA I was born for deep-sea faring; I was bred to put to sea; Stories of my father's daring Filled me at my mother's knee. I was sired among the surges; I was cubbed beside the foam; All my heart is in its verges, And the sea wind is my home. All my boyhood, from far vernal Bourns of being, came to me Dream-like, plangent, and eternal Memories of the plunging sea. THE GRAVEDIGGER Oh, the shambling sea... more...

CONTENTS OF FIRST LINES: To the Man of the High NorthMy rhymes are rough, and often in my rhymingMen of the High NorthMen of the High North, the wild sky is blazing;The Ballad of the Northern LightsOne of the Down and Out—that's me. Stare at me well, ay, stare!The Ballad of the Black Fox SkinThere was Claw-fingered Kitty and Windy Ike living the life of shame,The Ballad of Pious PeteI tried to refine that neighbor of mine, honest to God, I... more...

THE CHRONICLE OF THE DRUM. PART I. At Paris, hard by the Maine barriers,Whoever will choose to repair,Midst a dozen of wooden-legged warriorsMay haply fall in with old Pierre.On the sunshiny bench of a tavernHe sits and he prates of old wars,And moistens his pipe of tobaccoWith a drink that is named after Mars.The beer makes his tongue run the quicker,And as long as his tap never fails,Thus over his favorite liquorOld Peter will tell his old... more...

THE YARN OF THE "NANCY BELL." 'Twas on the shores that round our coastFrom Deal to Ramsgate span,That I found alone, on a piece of stone,An elderly naval man. His hair was weedy, his beard was long,And weedy and long was he,And I heard this wight on the shore recite,In a singular minor key: "Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold,And the mate of the Nancy brig,And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite,And the crew of the captain's gig." And he... more...

AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG. At the wide board at tables play,   With pleasure and with glee aboundingThe ladies twain in fair array,   The game they play is most astounding. How fly about the dies so small,   Such sudden turnings are they making;And so does Fortune’s wheel withal,   We scarcely know the route ’tis taking. Dame Julli grand, and Malfred Queen,   At tables were... more...

Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep,And cannot tell where to find ’em;Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,And bring their tails behind ’em. Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep,And dreamt she heard them bleating;When she awoke, she found it a joke,For still they all were fleeting. Then up she took her little crook,Determined for to find them;She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,For they’d left their tails... more...

THE NURSERY ALPHABET. A for the Alphabet, A, B, C; B for the Book that was given to me.   C for the Corn that stands in the stack; D for the Donkey with cross on his back.   E for the Engine that's lighted with coke; F for the Funnel that puffs out the smoke. The Nursery Alphabet. E F G H. G for the Goose that swims on the pond; H for the Hen, of her chickens so fond.   I for the Icicle, frosty and cold; J for the... more...

Georgie and Maudie came home from school,And each had got a prize;They had worked very hard, and tried to be good,For they wanted to grow up wise.         And now behold them jumping for joy,And clapping their hands with glee,Because Mamma has promised them--They shall stay for a month by the sea.     So Nurse was told to pack their things,And put their toys together;Whilst Mamma went out and bought new... more...

ASTROPHEL AFTER READING SIR PHILIP SIDNEY'S ARCADIA IN THE GARDEN OF AN OLD ENGLISH MANOR HOUSE I A star in the silence that followsThe song of the death of the sunSpeaks music in heaven, and the hollowsAnd heights of the world are as one;One lyre that outsings and outlightensThe rapture of sunset, and thrillsMute night till the sense of it brightensThe soul that it fills. The flowers of the sun that is sunkenHang heavy of heart as of... more...