 | Passion-Flowers |  |
169
HANDSOME HARRY.
Why must we look so oft abaft?
What is the charm we feel
When handsome Harry guides the craft,
His hand upon the wheel?
What is the charm we feel
When handsome Harry guides the craft,
His hand upon the wheel?
His hand upon the wheel, his eye
The swelling sail doth measure:
Were I the vessel he commands,
I should obey with pleasure.
The swelling sail doth measure:
Were I the vessel he commands,
I should obey with pleasure.
Whether he tumbles to the top,
Or in the rigging stands,
I must admire his agile feet,
His ready, willing hands.
Or in the rigging stands,
I must admire his agile feet,
His ready, willing hands.
170
He would seem taller, were he not
In such proportion made;
He wears as fair and free a brow
As golden curls can shade.
In such proportion made;
He wears as fair and free a brow
As golden curls can shade.
Fresh youth, and joyance, and kind heart
Gleam in his azure eye;
And though I scarcely know his voice,
I think he cannot lie.
Gleam in his azure eye;
And though I scarcely know his voice,
I think he cannot lie.
More graceful is his shirt of blue
Than your best Paris coat;
It drapes his manly shoulders well,
Displays his rounded throat.
Than your best Paris coat;
It drapes his manly shoulders well,
Displays his rounded throat.
He seems a glowing Mercury
Just lighted from the sun;
But Harry stands on two trim feet,
And Mercury on one.
Just lighted from the sun;
But Harry stands on two trim feet,
And Mercury on one.
From boyhood's days, the ocean wave
Has cradled him to sleep;
He is a true salt-water babe,
An orphan of the deep.
Has cradled him to sleep;
He is a true salt-water babe,
An orphan of the deep.
171
And he can win a maiden's ear,
They say, with ready art;
But who would trust to sailor's vows,
True pirates of the heart?
They say, with ready art;
But who would trust to sailor's vows,
True pirates of the heart?
Yet, when I see him at the helm
With heaven about his eyes,
I think he's fit to guide our ship
To nought but Paradise.
With heaven about his eyes,
I think he's fit to guide our ship
To nought but Paradise.
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