THE LAY OF THE CARIB DAMSEL.
I.
Come, seek the ocean's depths with me,
For there are joys beneath the sea,—
Joys, that when all is dark above,
Make all below a home of love!
II.
In hollow bright and fountain clear,
Lo! thousand pearl await us there;
And amber drops that sea-birds weep
In sparry caves along the deep.
III.
A crystal chamber there I know,
Where never yet did sunshaft go;
The soft moss from the rocks I take,
Of this our nuptial couch to make.
IV.
There, as thou yieldest on my breast,
My songs shall soothe thy happy rest,—
Such songs as still our prophets hear,
When winds and stars are singing near.
V.
These tell of climes, whose deep delight
Knows never change from day to night;
Where, if we love, the blooms and flowers,
And fruits, shall evermore be ours.
VI.
Oh! yield thee to the hope I bring,
Believe the truth I feel and sing,
Nor teach thy spirit thus to weep
Thy Christian home beyond the deep.
VII.
'Tis little,—ah! too well I know,
The poor Amaya may bestow,—
But if a heart that's truly thine
Be worthy thee, oh! cherish mine!
VIII.
My life is in thy look—for thee
I bloom, as for the sun, the tree;
My hopes, when thou forget'st thy woes,
Unfold as flowers, when winter goes.
IX.
And though, as our traditions say,
There bloom the worlds of endless day,
I would not care to seek the sky,
If there thy spirit did not fly.
