 | Collected poems |  |
614
JULY
(Virelai Nouveau)
Good-bye to the Town!—good-bye!
Hurrah! for the sea and the sky!
Hurrah! for the sea and the sky!
In the street the flower-girls cry;
In the street the water-carts ply;
And a fluter, with features awry,
Plays fitfully “Scots wha hae”—
And the throat of that fluter is dry;
Good-bye to the Town!—good-bye!
In the street the water-carts ply;
And a fluter, with features awry,
Plays fitfully “Scots wha hae”—
And the throat of that fluter is dry;
Good-bye to the Town!—good-bye!
And over the roof-tops high
Comes a waft like a dream of the May;
And a lady-bird lit on my tie,
And a cock-chafer came with the tray;
And a butterfly (no one knows why)
Mistook my Aunt's cap for a spray;
And “next door” and “over the way”
The neighbours take wing and fly;
Hurrah! for the sea and the sky!
Comes a waft like a dream of the May;
And a lady-bird lit on my tie,
And a cock-chafer came with the tray;
And a butterfly (no one knows why)
Mistook my Aunt's cap for a spray;
And “next door” and “over the way”
The neighbours take wing and fly;
Hurrah! for the sea and the sky!
To Buxton, the waters to try,
To Buxton goes old Mrs. Bligh;
And the Captain to Homburg and play
Will carry his cane and his eye;
And even Miss Morgan Lefay
Is flitting—to far Peckham Rye;
And my Grocer has gone—in a “Shay,”
And my Tailor has gone—in a “Fly”:
Good-bye to the Town!—good-bye!
To Buxton goes old Mrs. Bligh;
And the Captain to Homburg and play
Will carry his cane and his eye;
And even Miss Morgan Lefay
615
And my Grocer has gone—in a “Shay,”
And my Tailor has gone—in a “Fly”:
Good-bye to the Town!—good-bye!
And it's O for the sea and the sky!
And it's O for the boat and the bay!
For the white foam whirling by,
And the sharp salt edge of the spray!
For the wharf where the black nets fry,
And the wrack and the oar-weed sway!
For the stroll when the moon is high
To the nook by the Flag-house gray!
For the risus ab angulo shy
From the Someone we designate “Di!”
For the moment of silence, the sigh!
“How I dote on a Moon!” “So do I!”
For the token we snatch on the sly!
(With nobody there to say Fie!)
Hurrah! for the sea and the sky!
And it's O for the boat and the bay!
For the white foam whirling by,
And the sharp salt edge of the spray!
For the wharf where the black nets fry,
And the wrack and the oar-weed sway!
For the stroll when the moon is high
To the nook by the Flag-house gray!
For the risus ab angulo shy
From the Someone we designate “Di!”
For the moment of silence, the sigh!
“How I dote on a Moon!” “So do I!”
For the token we snatch on the sly!
(With nobody there to say Fie!)
Hurrah! for the sea and the sky!
So Phyllis, the fawn-footed, hie
For a Hansom. Ere close of the day
Between us a “world” must lie:
Good-bye to the Town! Good-bye!
Hurrah! for the sea and the sky!
For a Hansom. Ere close of the day
Between us a “world” must lie:
Good-bye to the Town! Good-bye!
Hurrah! for the sea and the sky!
1876.
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