Flotsam and Jetsam Rhymes Old and New. By Alfred Domett |
 | 1. |
| 2. |
|
[What matter—what matter—O friend, though the Sea] |
 | Flotsam and Jetsam |  |
83
[What matter—what matter—O friend, though the Sea]
I
What matter—what matter—O friend, though the Sea
In lines of silvery fire may slide
O'er the sands so tawny and tender and wide,
Murmuring soft as a bee?—
In lines of silvery fire may slide
O'er the sands so tawny and tender and wide,
Murmuring soft as a bee?—
‘No matter, no matter, in sooth,’ said he:
‘But the sunlit sands and the silvery play,
Are a trustful smile long past away:
—No more to me!’
‘But the sunlit sands and the silvery play,
Are a trustful smile long past away:
—No more to me!’
II
What matter—what matter—dear friend, can it be,
If a long blue stripe, dim-swelling and dark
Beneath the lighter blue headland, may mark
All of the town we can see?—
If a long blue stripe, dim-swelling and dark
Beneath the lighter blue headland, may mark
All of the town we can see?—
‘No matter, no matter, in truth,’ said he:
‘But the streak that fades and fades as we part,
Is a broken voice and a breaking heart:
—No more to me!’
‘But the streak that fades and fades as we part,
Is a broken voice and a breaking heart:
—No more to me!’
1875.
| Flotsam and Jetsam | |