[Poems by Woolson in] Five generations (1785-1923) being scattered chapters from the history of the Cooper, Pomeroy, Woolson and Benedict families, with extracts From their Letters and Journals, as well as articles and poems by Constance Fenimore Woolson |
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THE FLORIDA BEACH. |
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 | [Poems by Woolson in] Five generations (1785-1923) |  |
232
THE FLORIDA BEACH.
Our driftwood fire burns drowsily,
The fog hangs low afar,
A thousand sea-birds wild and free
Hover above the bar;
Our boat is drawn far up the strand
Beyond the tide's long reach,
Like fringeing to the dark green land
Shines the silvery Florida beach.
The fog hangs low afar,
A thousand sea-birds wild and free
Hover above the bar;
Our boat is drawn far up the strand
Beyond the tide's long reach,
Like fringeing to the dark green land
Shines the silvery Florida beach.
Behind, the broad pine-barrens lie
Without a path or trail,
Before, the ocean meets the sky
Without a rock or sail;
We call across to Africa—
The waves from mile to mile
Bear on the hail from Florida,
And the answering cry of the Nile.
Without a path or trail,
Before, the ocean meets the sky
Without a rock or sail;
We call across to Africa—
The waves from mile to mile
Bear on the hail from Florida,
And the answering cry of the Nile.
Far to the South the beach shines on,
Thick-gemmed with giant shells,
Coral sprays from the white reef won,
Radiate spiny cells,
Glass-like creatures that ride the waves
With azure sail and oar,
Wide-mouthed things from the deep-sea caves
And the purple-hued drift of the shore.
Thick-gemmed with giant shells,
Coral sprays from the white reef won,
Radiate spiny cells,
Glass-like creatures that ride the waves
With azure sail and oar,
Wide-mouthed things from the deep-sea caves
And the purple-hued drift of the shore.
Wild ducks gaze as we pass along,
They have not learned to fear;
The mocking-bird keeps on his song
In the palmetto near;
The slow stream from the everglade
Shows the alligator's track.
The sea is rift in light and shade
By the heave of the dolphin's back.
They have not learned to fear;
The mocking-bird keeps on his song
In the palmetto near;
The slow stream from the everglade
Shows the alligator's track.
The sea is rift in light and shade
By the heave of the dolphin's back.
The Spanish light-house stands in haze,
The keeper trims his lights,
No sail he sees through long, long days,
No sail through still, still nights;
But ships that pass far out at sea
Along the warm Gulf Stream
From Yucatan and Carribee
Keep a watch for his far-away gleam.
The keeper trims his lights,
No sail he sees through long, long days,
No sail through still, still nights;
But ships that pass far out at sea
Along the warm Gulf Stream
From Yucatan and Carribee
Keep a watch for his far-away gleam.
Alone, alone, we wander through
The southern winter day,
The ocean spreads his mighty blue,
The world is far away;
The tide comes in,—the birds fly low,
As if to catch our speech—
Ah Fate! why must we ever go
From the beautiful Florida beach?
The southern winter day,
The ocean spreads his mighty blue,
The world is far away;
The tide comes in,—the birds fly low,
As if to catch our speech—
Ah Fate! why must we ever go
From the beautiful Florida beach?
| [Poems by Woolson in] Five generations (1785-1923) | |