 | Later Lyrics |  |
253
FAREWELL TO HAVANA.
My sight is blank, my heart is lorn;
My tropic trance of joy I mourn,—
That stolen summer of delight,
Dreamed on the breast of wintry night,
When sad, true souls abide the North,
And we, love-truants, issued forth
To find, with steady sail unfurled,
The glowing centre of the world.
My tropic trance of joy I mourn,—
That stolen summer of delight,
Dreamed on the breast of wintry night,
When sad, true souls abide the North,
And we, love-truants, issued forth
To find, with steady sail unfurled,
The glowing centre of the world.
The glorious sights went fleeting by;
I had no hold on earth or sky:
Two little hands, one helpless heart,
Could claim and keep so small a part.
A shadow of the stately palm;
A burnish of the noontide calm;
A dream of faces new and strange,
Darkened and lit with sudden change;
A joy of flowers unearthly fair
In giant Nature's tangled hair;
A joy of fruits of other hue
And savor than my childhood knew;
A sorrow, as the vista grew,
Longer and lesser, cherished too;
A pang of parting, heart-bereft
Of all I had,—is all I've left.
I had no hold on earth or sky:
Two little hands, one helpless heart,
Could claim and keep so small a part.
A shadow of the stately palm;
A burnish of the noontide calm;
254
Darkened and lit with sudden change;
A joy of flowers unearthly fair
In giant Nature's tangled hair;
A joy of fruits of other hue
And savor than my childhood knew;
A sorrow, as the vista grew,
Longer and lesser, cherished too;
A pang of parting, heart-bereft
Of all I had,—is all I've left.
To cheer my journey what remains
Towards the rude heights where Winter reigns?
What love-nursed thought shall shield my breast
Warmer than cloak or sable vest?
One hope serene all comfort brings,—
Who made thy bonds did lend thy wings;
Who sends thee from this faery reign
Once brought thee here, and may again.
Towards the rude heights where Winter reigns?
What love-nursed thought shall shield my breast
Warmer than cloak or sable vest?
One hope serene all comfort brings,—
Who made thy bonds did lend thy wings;
Who sends thee from this faery reign
Once brought thee here, and may again.
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