BARCAROLLE.
FROM THE SAME.
O sun-bright maiden, choose and say,
Whither shall we two sail to-day?
The rose’s breath is on the gale
That softly moves our silken sail;
Our masts of gleaming ivory
Are strung like harps with yellow hair,
That make Æolian music there;
A seraph shall our pilot be.
O sun-bright maiden, choose and say,
Whither shall we two sail to-day?
Our pinnace lifts her snowy wing
And flutters like a living thing;
And from the shore the morning wind
Toys with our awning’s purple fold;
Our rudder is of beaten gold
And leaves a rosy track behind.
O sun-bright maiden, choose and say,
Whither shall we two sail to-day?
Our hold with love-apples is stored,
And all strange fruits, a goodly hoard;
A wingèd boy sits at the prow,
Pointing our path with beaming eye
And smile of deepest mystery;
A wreath of myrtle crowns his brow.
O sun-bright maiden, choose and say,
Whither in Love’s realm shall we stray?
Say, shall we seek some storied isle,
Where warm Ægean waters smile?
Or shall I see the Arctic sun
A flood of crimson glories shed
At midnight on that golden head,
Or sail to seas where pearls are won?
O sun-bright maiden, choose and say
Whither shall we two sail to-day?
Follow the track of Heracles—
Seeking the far Hesperides;
Or where the South Sea flower expands,
Float idly in the moonlight wan;
Or sail beneath the rainbow’s span—
Bright gateway to Love’s golden lands?
O sun-bright maiden, choose and say,
There is no one to say thee nay.
O seek, she saith, that faithful shore
Where loving hearts will change no more.
Alas, my sails for many a year
Have sped through all Love’s wide domain,
Seeking that blessed shore in vain:
That land is still unknown, my dear.