FLY FORWARD MY BOAT! BEAR ME OVER THE
OCEAN.
I
Fly forward, my boat! bear me over the ocean,
To yonder luxuriant meadows and trees:
Compar'd with my wishes, how slow is your motion,
How feeble the tide, and how languid the breeze!
For on that sunny land there is one who sits viewing
Each cloud on the sky and each speck on the sea;
Who with love's eager glance ev'ry bark is pursuing:
Then onward—for Anna is watching for me!
II
Like beautiful birds in their fulness of feather.
Yon vessels unfurl all their sails to the wind;
Oh! would that we all could fly forward together!
But no, they leave my little boat far behind:
Yet, my light little boat! all those gay barks are chasing
Fame, fortune, or friends, far away o'er the sea;
They know not the charms of the isle they are passing,
They know not that Anna is watching for me.
III
One moment she wishes the wind would blow stronger,
Then thinks there is danger and wishes it less;
Now looks on the waves, and then fears to look longer,
And prays for my safety in silent distress.
Though the breeze freshens now, and will soon waft me over,
Though swiftly my boat cuts her way through the sea,
Too slowly she moves for the heart of a lover,
Too slowly for her who sits watching for me.