“Oh, turn thee, turn thee, captain, Thou’rt rushing on to death!” But back he answer shouted, With unabated breath:
“Turn back who will, I turn not! For this one thing I know, That I must sail due eastward However winds may blow!”
“Oh, art thou fool or madman? Thy port is but a dream, And never on the horizon’s rim Will its fair turrets gleam.”
Then smiled the captain wisely, And slowly answered he, The while his keen glance widened Over the lonely sea:
“I carry sealéd orders. This only thing I know, That I must sail due eastward Whatever winds may blow!”
AN ANNIVERSARY
So long, so short, So swift, so slow, Are the years of man As they come and go!
O love, it was so long ago! So long, so long that we were young, And in the cloisters of our hearts Hope all her joy-bells rung! So long, so long that since that hour Full half a lifetime hath gone by— How ran the days ere first we met, Belovéd, thou and I?
We had our dreams, no doubt. The dawn Must still presage the rising sun, And rose and crimson flush the east Ere day is well begun. We had our dreams—fair, shadowy wraiths That fled when Day’s full splendor kissed Our souls’ high places, and its winds Swept the vales clear of mist!
So long, so short, So swift, so slow, Are the years of man As they come and go!