 | Poems by Elizabeth Akers (Florence Percy) |  |
185
VOYAGING.
In the fierce battle of contending waves
Alternate lost and won,
Driving o'er sunken wrecks and nameless graves
The strong ship struggles on.
Alternate lost and won,
Driving o'er sunken wrecks and nameless graves
The strong ship struggles on.
Striving and toiling like a soul in bonds,
Its haven unattained;—
The wild waves call, and the wild wind responds,
And rest is not yet gained.
Its haven unattained;—
The wild waves call, and the wild wind responds,
And rest is not yet gained.
Often the eye sweeps the horizon's verge,
To see if there may be
Some small relief from the incessant surge,
And the wide waste of sea;
To see if there may be
Some small relief from the incessant surge,
And the wide waste of sea;
But all in vain. No sail or living thing
Breaks the monotony,—
Only the lonesome gulls on slanting wing
Between the sea and sky.
Breaks the monotony,—
Only the lonesome gulls on slanting wing
Between the sea and sky.
186
The dews descend and the brief day is done,
The skies flush rosily,
And all too early the unwilling sun
Goes down behind the sea.
The skies flush rosily,
And all too early the unwilling sun
Goes down behind the sea.
I gaze and gaze, and wonder childishly
If haply there may be,
Beyond that distant line of sky and sea,
One heart which longs for me;
If haply there may be,
Beyond that distant line of sky and sea,
One heart which longs for me;
If, far beyond these billows hoarse and rude,
Like needle to the pole,
There trembles toward my utter solitude
One unforgetting soul.
Like needle to the pole,
There trembles toward my utter solitude
One unforgetting soul.
The shadows fall, the wind grows chill and damp,
The still stars crown the night,
And from the binnacle the faithful lamp
Sends out its lonely light.
The still stars crown the night,
And from the binnacle the faithful lamp
Sends out its lonely light.
I gaze upon the hurrying waves, and mark
Their twinkling brilliancy,—
Like myriad fire-flies drowning in the dark
Of the insatiate sea.
Their twinkling brilliancy,—
Like myriad fire-flies drowning in the dark
Of the insatiate sea.
187
I think with tears of the dear distant land,—
The love which now I lack,—
The pleading eyes, the dear detaining hand,
Which strove to hold me back.
The love which now I lack,—
The pleading eyes, the dear detaining hand,
Which strove to hold me back.
To these, even in my dreams, my memory turns,
Prizing love's blessed boon,—
To these in vain my homesick spirit yearns
As sad seas toward the moon.
Prizing love's blessed boon,—
To these in vain my homesick spirit yearns
As sad seas toward the moon.
All the dear faces which I left behind
Seem dearer and more fair,
All the old friendships cluster near and kind,
And keep me from despair.
Seem dearer and more fair,
All the old friendships cluster near and kind,
And keep me from despair.
So am I cheered and comforted, to prove
What these drear days have shown:
The soul that shrines one dear remembered love
Is nevermore alone!
What these drear days have shown:
The soul that shrines one dear remembered love
Is nevermore alone!
| Poems by Elizabeth Akers (Florence Percy) | |