 | [Poems by Cary in] The poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary with introduction and notes |  |
THE DREAMER.
Blow life's most fearful tempest, blow,
And make the midnight wild and rough;
My soul shall battle with you now,—
I 've been a dreamer long enough!
And make the midnight wild and rough;
My soul shall battle with you now,—
I 've been a dreamer long enough!
Open, O sea, a darker path,
Dash to my lips the angry spray;
The tenth wave of thy fiercest wrath
Were nothing to my strength to-day!
Dash to my lips the angry spray;
The tenth wave of thy fiercest wrath
Were nothing to my strength to-day!
436
Though floating onward listlessly
When pleasant breezes softly blew,
My spirit with the adverse sea
Shall rise, and gather strength anew.
When pleasant breezes softly blew,
My spirit with the adverse sea
Shall rise, and gather strength anew.
Wake, soul of mine, and be thou strong;
Keep down thy weakness, human heart;
Thou hast unnerved my arm too long,
O foolish dreamer that thou art!
Keep down thy weakness, human heart;
Thou hast unnerved my arm too long,
O foolish dreamer that thou art!
For I have sat and mused for hours
Of havens that I yet should see,
Of winding paths, of pleasant flowers,
And summer islands in the sea,—
Of havens that I yet should see,
Of winding paths, of pleasant flowers,
And summer islands in the sea,—
Forgetful of the storms that come,
Of winds that dig the ocean grave,
And sharp reefs hidden by the foam
That drifts like blossoms on the wave,—
Of winds that dig the ocean grave,
And sharp reefs hidden by the foam
That drifts like blossoms on the wave,—
Forgetful, too, that he who guides
Must have a firm and steadfast hand,
If e'er his vessel safely rides
Through storm and breaker to the land,—
Must have a firm and steadfast hand,
If e'er his vessel safely rides
Through storm and breaker to the land,—
Idly and listless drifting on,
Feeding my fancy all the while,
As lovesick dreamers feed upon
The honeyed sweetness of a smile.
Feeding my fancy all the while,
As lovesick dreamers feed upon
The honeyed sweetness of a smile.
Fool that I was,—ay! Folly's mock,—
To think not, in those pleasant hours,
How barks have foundered on the rock,
And drifted past the isles of flowers!
To think not, in those pleasant hours,
How barks have foundered on the rock,
And drifted past the isles of flowers!
Yet well it were, if, roused to feel,
I yet avert such fearful fate,—
The quick, sharp grating of the keel
Had been a warning all too late.
I yet avert such fearful fate,—
The quick, sharp grating of the keel
Had been a warning all too late.
But courage still; for whether now
Or rough or smooth life's ocean seems,
To-day my soul records her vow,
Hereafter I am done with dreams!
Or rough or smooth life's ocean seems,
To-day my soul records her vow,
Hereafter I am done with dreams!
| [Poems by Cary in] The poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary with introduction and notes | |