 | Areytos or songs and ballads of the South |  |
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BESIDE THE SEA.
I.
Beside the Sea, beside the Sea,Where the breezes are blowing fresh and free,
And the waves with regular swell subside
From the beaten beach, with the shrinking tide;
And waves grow purple in evening's light,
And the stars steal out before the night;
Where the peace is sure, and the soul, in play,
Forgets how care had come with the day:
Oh there! Oh there!
With the one, o'er all, who is dear to me,
How sweet is the zephyr!—how soft the sea!
II.
But not on the sea—the restless sea,That can never a moment constant be—
Where the zephyr itself can rouse to rage,
And moonlight and starlight fail to 'suage:
Where, mocking the fond heart's loving prayer,
The ocean smothers the young and fair—
Sweeps over the goodly ship, and spoils
The treasure that grew from a thousand toils:
Not there! Not there!
But beside the sea, in its gentle guise,
Let me gaze, at dusk, in the loved one's eyes!
III.
A cottage for me, by the summer sea,With evergreen coppice and mighty tree,
And a glorious lawn of the tufted green
Stretching down where the white sands spread between;
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To fling up the spray at each billowy shock;
While the waves, with a loving moan entreat
The zephyr to wander on wingéd feet:
Oh there! Oh there!
With the one, o'er all, who can feel with me,
How sweet is the breeze, and how soft the sea!
| Areytos or songs and ballads of the South | |