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A book of Bristol sonnets

By H. D. Rawnsley

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OUTWARD BOUND.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


99

OUTWARD BOUND.

SUNDAY, EARLY SPRING.

Loud ring the bells, and brave the shipmen row.
They'll spend their Sabbath on the restless sea!
The taper masts along the woods of Leigh
Glide like a dream; and, seen so far below,
The men on deck like busy ants do show!
How longs the prisoned mainsail to be free,
And shines and foams the gay, impatient prow!
Dull-hearted woods, and will ye not be gay?
Can these upon the waves of spring-tide learn?
Do churlish billows blossom with the May?
Will foreign seas be green with English fern?
Or, Spartan, do ye nerve them for the fray
By being, as the waters, cold and stern.
 

The gloomy hue of the woods in early spring will account for this epithet.