 | The poems and stories of Fitz-James O'Brien |  |
WHEN I CAME BACK FROM SEA.
When we set sail to chase the whale
From old Nantucket Bay,
O, a lighter, merrier heart than mine
Never yet sailed away!
While some were sad, and none was glad,
I was singing with glee;
For I was to marry sweet Maggie Gray
When I came back from sea.
From old Nantucket Bay,
O, a lighter, merrier heart than mine
Never yet sailed away!
While some were sad, and none was glad,
I was singing with glee;
For I was to marry sweet Maggie Gray
When I came back from sea.
Her hair was brown as the kelp that drifts
Where sea-currents come and go;
Like gentians peeping through snowy rifts,
Her blue eyes shone in snow.
And further down the sea-pink grew,
Healthy, hardy, and free;
And all these treasures would be mine
When I came back from sea.
Where sea-currents come and go;
Like gentians peeping through snowy rifts,
Her blue eyes shone in snow.
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Healthy, hardy, and free;
And all these treasures would be mine
When I came back from sea.
Wherever I went in the far, far south,
In strait or in calm lagoon,
My heart, like the cheerful heart it was,
Kept singing a merry tune.
It shortened the watch of the weary nights,
It lightened my work for me;
For it sang, ‘You'll marry sweet Maggie Gray
When you come back from sea.’
In strait or in calm lagoon,
My heart, like the cheerful heart it was,
Kept singing a merry tune.
It shortened the watch of the weary nights,
It lightened my work for me;
For it sang, ‘You'll marry sweet Maggie Gray
When you come back from sea.’
My comrades too, though rude and rough,
Ever ready to give and take,
Were gentle,—for all of them knew my bird,
And were kind to me for her sake;
And none ever dared, in our fo'castle games,
To make ribald jests to me;
For I was to marry sweet Maggie Gray
When I came back from sea.
Ever ready to give and take,
Were gentle,—for all of them knew my bird,
And were kind to me for her sake;
And none ever dared, in our fo'castle games,
To make ribald jests to me;
For I was to marry sweet Maggie Gray
When I came back from sea.
For three long years we sailed and whaled,
Until we had filled our hold;
Then homeward sped, while every head
Was running on wages and gold.
But I did not care what would be my share,
However large it might be;
My only thought was of Maggie Gray,
As I came back from sea.
Until we had filled our hold;
Then homeward sped, while every head
Was running on wages and gold.
But I did not care what would be my share,
However large it might be;
My only thought was of Maggie Gray,
As I came back from sea.
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At last one day we saw the bay
And the old Nantucket shore;
I landed and ran like an Indian man
To Maggie's cottage door.
But the door was barred, and there was not a soul
To give word or welcome to me;
For Maggie Gray had gone away,
And I—had come back from sea!
And the old Nantucket shore;
I landed and ran like an Indian man
To Maggie's cottage door.
But the door was barred, and there was not a soul
To give word or welcome to me;
For Maggie Gray had gone away,
And I—had come back from sea!
I ran like mad through the little town,
And questioned all I met;
But I only got a shake of the head,
Or a look of sad regret;
Until old Ben—a rough man too—
Came kindly up to me,
Saying, ‘Lad, 't were better a thousand times
You 'd never come back from sea.’
And questioned all I met;
But I only got a shake of the head,
Or a look of sad regret;
Until old Ben—a rough man too—
Came kindly up to me,
Saying, ‘Lad, 't were better a thousand times
You 'd never come back from sea.’
Then I heard it all,—how a gay gallant
Had come from Boston down,
And robbed the nest of my little pet bird,
And carried her off to town;
While I was left with a broken heart,
And nothing to welcome me,
But a tale of shame and a ruined name,
When I came back from sea.
Had come from Boston down,
And robbed the nest of my little pet bird,
And carried her off to town;
While I was left with a broken heart,
And nothing to welcome me,
But a tale of shame and a ruined name,
When I came back from sea.
| The poems and stories of Fitz-James O'Brien | |