 | Leaves of life |  |
72
THE SAILOR'S WIFE.
‘O, the wind is cruel and keen and cold,
It is raging over the marsh and the wold
As if it would tear you out of my hold.
It is raging over the marsh and the wold
As if it would tear you out of my hold.
‘Molly, hold fast; we shall soon be there,
Where the room is warm with the fire's broad flare
(Where the silence is, and the empty chair.)
Where the room is warm with the fire's broad flare
(Where the silence is, and the empty chair.)
‘The way is long from the sea and the town;
(This is the wind to wreck and to drown;
It blew the night that his ship went down.)
(This is the wind to wreck and to drown;
It blew the night that his ship went down.)
‘Hold up—that light, like a red red star,
Shows where the fire and the curtains are
(The mad waves roar through the night afar).
Shows where the fire and the curtains are
(The mad waves roar through the night afar).
73
‘O, the wind, how it drives! we can hardly stand.
How it whistles and shrieks over sea and land!
Keep close, hold tightly to mother's hand.
How it whistles and shrieks over sea and land!
Keep close, hold tightly to mother's hand.
‘Sweet rest for my little ones soon will be!
(And for him his rest in the restless sea,
And the ache that is never at rest for me).
(And for him his rest in the restless sea,
And the ache that is never at rest for me).
‘The sheep on the wold show dully white
Against the darkness—I have you tight.
O God, keep both of my lambs to-night!
Against the darkness—I have you tight.
O God, keep both of my lambs to-night!
‘We shall soon be home—we will shut the door,
And the wind shall not get at us any more.
(O, the shout of the surf on the far-off shore!)’
And the wind shall not get at us any more.
(O, the shout of the surf on the far-off shore!)’
They have reached the door, they are safe inside;
The wind wails over the trees and the tide
As it wailed and shrieked on the night he died.
The wind wails over the trees and the tide
As it wailed and shrieked on the night he died.
Warm, lonely and firelit the cottage is.
Lonely! Then who and what is this—
Whose voice, whose arms, whose tears, whose kiss?
Lonely! Then who and what is this—
Whose voice, whose arms, whose tears, whose kiss?
74
Ah, whose but his all her soul had stirred?
What their hearts said only the angels heard,
For they held each other without a word.
What their hearts said only the angels heard,
For they held each other without a word.
For there is not a word that is not vain
When out of the darkness and night and pain
Two lovers come to each other again.
When out of the darkness and night and pain
Two lovers come to each other again.
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