The Poetical Works of James Gates Percival :: :: University of Virginia Library

See the bounding bark afloat!
Steady blows the willing gale!
Joy, with merry, merry note,
Hoists and spreads the purple sail.
Far away, O far away!
I must cross the dashing sea;
So, my dearest, do not stay,—
Boldly cross the wave with me.

To the far Elysian isles,
'Mid the ocean, in the west,
Where the sky for ever smiles,
All the year one halcyon rest,—
Shall we thither speed our flight?
Only cross the wave with me,
I shall find, my love and light,
All Elysian with thee.

On the dark Cimmerian strand,
Where eternal shadows reign;
Where Caucasian summits stand,
Towering o'er the untrodden plain;
Where, along the fatal shore,
Music lulls the soul to death;
Wastes, that hear the lion's roar;
Sands, where kills the dragon's breath:

Or in flowery gardens, where
Bends the lotus, passing sweet;
Vales, where roses fill the air;
Meads, where silent waters meet,
Lingering on through asphodel;—
With thee, all alike would be:
If with me thou deign to dwell,
All Elysian smiles to me.