UNFULFILLED PROMISES.
Glad childhood days. I stand beside a summer sea, 1 And launch a tiny ship upon the shining crests, Happy to see it sail so gallantly and free, Away to where An island fair Amid the blue expatfse of sunlit waters rests. I freight it deep with hopes that de not seem too bright, And dreams that areas real as are these sunny days— ; And so, with sails that court the breeze, with nags bedight, And streamers gay, She takes her way To where my island nestles 'mid the banks of haze. I watch her sailing out into the golden West, And joy to see how proud and staunch a ship she is, Thinking to see her gain that port of perfect rest, Beyond the waves, Whose coral caves My fancy pictures as a haven walled with bliss. In bleak old age again I stand upon the shore, And watch the cold, gray surf that breaks upon the sands, Hearing hoarse music in its loud and fitful roar, That fills my soul Like the deep roll Of some organ when 'tis touched by master hands. I shield my eyes and gaze across the angry sea, To where in days of yore my happy island lay ; Alas ! no happy island lingers there for me— The sunset skies With roseate dyes Were painted but to close Youth's golden summer days 1 I search amid the debris from a hundred climes The cruel waves have scattered at my loitering
feet, And find, ah, me ! a token from the olden time— Amid the wrecks, The battered decks Of what had been my little ship so brave and fleet !
UNFULFILLED PROMISES.
Otago Witness, Issue 1866, 26 August 1887, Page 29
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