 | Songs of the sea, with other poems |  |
35
XIII.
CUBA.
What sounds arouse me from my slumbers light?“Land ho! all hands, ahoy!”—I'm on the deck:
'Tis early dawn: the day-star yet is bright;
A few white vapory bars the zenith fleck;
And lo! along the horizon, bold and high,
The purple hills of Cuba! Hail, all hail!
Isle of undying verdure, with thy sky
Of purest azure! Welcome, odorous gale!
O, scene of life and joy! thou art arrayed
In hues of unimagined loveliness.
Sing louder, brave old mariner! and aid
My swelling heart its rapture to express;
For, from enchanted memory, never more
Shall fade this dawn sublime, this fair, resplendent shore.
| Songs of the sea, with other poems | |