"For coldly, coldly, runs the tide;
And all the foam is salt and strong;
And here, athirst and cramped, I bide,
And I have waited, waited long."
Literary Monthly, 1910.
OUT OF THE HARBOR
STANTON BUDINGTON LEEDS ex-'08
Across the breadth of many memoried years
I catch a whiff of strong, salt air
Light-hearted blowing of the gentle wind,
And all the swaying of the sad and silent sea;
On high a golden star, bright, peerless, free,
In endless space confined,—
And light as laughter 'gainst my cheek, star-lit with tears,
A wavy lock of sweet brown hair.
The star wove silver webs across the ways
Carved by the wind, a half-breathed sigh,
That spoke in ripples. "O Heart's Delight,"
I cried, "The skiff comes for me now across the water."
And, as I bent to kiss her, Love's fair daughter,
She barely breathed, "Good-night,"
And some musician blended Chopin with her phrase:
"Good-bye, Love's youth, Youth's love, good-bye."
Literary Monthly, 1907.
SUCCESS
STANTON BUDINGTON LEEDS ex-'08
The deep, dark clouds are yonder massed,
And rain has drenched fields drear and dun,
But o'er the farthest hills at last
I see the sun!