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204
THE SAILOR BOY.
O Sailor Boy! Sailor Boy! wild rolls the deep,
And loud roar the winds; but they break not thy sleep;
They call not thy foot to the shroud by the blast;—
Thy sails are all reefed, and thine anchor is cast!
And loud roar the winds; but they break not thy sleep;
They call not thy foot to the shroud by the blast;—
Thy sails are all reefed, and thine anchor is cast!
Thy night-watch is finished,—thy life-dream is o'er;
The hammock, forsaken, shall rock thee no more.
The cold, heavy sea-weeds inwrap thy young form,
Whose eye was so beaming, whose heart was so warm!
The hammock, forsaken, shall rock thee no more.
The cold, heavy sea-weeds inwrap thy young form,
Whose eye was so beaming, whose heart was so warm!
Our looking, our waiting, our hopes and our fears,
Are gone,—followed swift by this torrent of tears!
We now can but ask of the wind and the wave
When last they swept over our Sailor Boy's grave.
Are gone,—followed swift by this torrent of tears!
We now can but ask of the wind and the wave
When last they swept over our Sailor Boy's grave.
Ah, Sailor Boy! what were thy thoughts in that hour
When thou wast cut off like a half-open flower;—
This moment, all promise, and beauty, and prime;
The next, past for aye from the visions of time?
When thou wast cut off like a half-open flower;—
This moment, all promise, and beauty, and prime;
The next, past for aye from the visions of time?
How strongly did Nature assert her fond ties,
Ere light of eternity burst on thine eyes,
When clinging with fervor, to stay the bright soul
She fain had drawn back, when 't was touching the goal!
Ere light of eternity burst on thine eyes,
When clinging with fervor, to stay the bright soul
She fain had drawn back, when 't was touching the goal!
While buried thy form lies beneath the sea-foam,
Our love and our memory follow thee home,—
Home, home, to the bosom of Jesus on high,
Where love cannot languish, nor memory die!
Our love and our memory follow thee home,—
Home, home, to the bosom of Jesus on high,
Where love cannot languish, nor memory die!
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