I’LL BE WATCHING ON THE SHORE
She kissed me when we parted,—
I to sail the stormy main,
She to keep the little cottage
Snug until I come again;
And well do I remember
What she promised o’er and o’er:—
“When you come sailing from the ocean
I’ll be watching on the shore!”
So I was a jolly skipper,
Coiling rope or reefing sail;
Many a distant port I entered,
Many a homebound ship did hail.
If I sent or got a message,
Always it the promise bore:—
“When you come sailing from the ocean
I’ll be watching on the shore!”
Death came yawning in the tempest;
Wild and high the spindrift flew,
And from dizzy deck and masthead
Oft I thought my hour was due;
Till her dear prophetic promise
Sang above the billows’ roar:—
“When you come sailing from the ocean
I’ll be watching on the shore!”
But alas! One time I harbored
She was sleeping white and still
Where the ivy made a trellis
Of the lookout on the hill;
And the cold engraven marble
Yet the farewell promise bore:—
“When you come sailing from the ocean
I’ll be watching on the shore!”