 | [Poems by Cary in] The poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary with introduction and notes |  |
THE MARINER'S BRIDE.
O'er the dark waters now my bounding bark
May bear me onward wheresoe'er it will:
I care not though the angry sky be dark,
Light of my being! thou art with me still.
Yes, let the heaving billows lash the deck,
And the red lightning tremble on the sea;
So that thy faithful arms are round my neck,
My heart will never tremble;—for with thee
I know my soul within would still be brave
If every gaping billow showed a grave.
May bear me onward wheresoe'er it will:
I care not though the angry sky be dark,
Light of my being! thou art with me still.
Yes, let the heaving billows lash the deck,
And the red lightning tremble on the sea;
370
My heart will never tremble;—for with thee
I know my soul within would still be brave
If every gaping billow showed a grave.
Once I had feared the raging of the sea,
When the wild tempest in its fury burst;
But, bride of beauty! standing thus with thee,
The angry elements may do their worst.
And should our vessel founder on a rock,
Or cast us on some desert shore to die,
Unshrinkingly my soul will meet the shock,
If thou with that inspiring brow art nigh:
For, folding thee, my gentle bride, to sleep,
Closer, and closer, to this fainting breast,
We should go down as calmly to the deep
As a young infant to its cradle-rest.
And though the water-wraith should stir the sea,
And the wild tempest move the waves above,
Securely peaceful would my slumber be
With thee, my stricken bride of youth and love;
For thou wouldst cheer the darkness of the grave,
As the bright sea-star lights the ocean cave!
When the wild tempest in its fury burst;
But, bride of beauty! standing thus with thee,
The angry elements may do their worst.
And should our vessel founder on a rock,
Or cast us on some desert shore to die,
Unshrinkingly my soul will meet the shock,
If thou with that inspiring brow art nigh:
For, folding thee, my gentle bride, to sleep,
Closer, and closer, to this fainting breast,
We should go down as calmly to the deep
As a young infant to its cradle-rest.
And though the water-wraith should stir the sea,
And the wild tempest move the waves above,
Securely peaceful would my slumber be
With thee, my stricken bride of youth and love;
For thou wouldst cheer the darkness of the grave,
As the bright sea-star lights the ocean cave!
| [Poems by Cary in] The poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary with introduction and notes | |