 | Songs of the sea, with other poems |  |
29
VII.
TROPICAL WEATHER.
Now we're afloat upon the tropic sea:Here Summer holdeth a perpetual reign.
How flash the waters in their bounding glee!
The sky's soft purple is without a stain.
Full in our wake the smooth, warm trade-winds, blowing,
To their unvarying goal still faithful run;
And, as we steer, with sails before them flowing,
Nearer the zenith daily climbs the sun.
The startled flying-fish around us skim,
Glossed like the humming-bird, with rainbow dyes;
And, as they dip into the water's brim,
Swift in pursuit the preying dolphin hies.
All, all is fair; and gazing round, we feel
Over the yielding sense the torrid languor steal.
| Songs of the sea, with other poems | |