Jill-o'er-the-ground is purple blue,
Blue is the quaker-maid,
The alder clump where the brook comes through
Breeds cresses in its shade.
To be out of the moiling street
With its swelter and its sin!
Who has given to me this sweet,
And given my brother dust to eat?
And when will his wage come in?
Scattering wide or blown in ranks,
Yellow and white and brown,
Boats and boats from the fishing banks
Come home to Gloucester town.
There is cash to purse and spend,
There are wives to be embraced,
Hearts to borrow and hearts to lend,
And hearts to take and keep to the end,—
O little sails, make haste!
But thou, vast outbound ship of souls,
What harbor town for thee?
What shapes, when thy arriving tolls,
Shall crowd the banks to see?
Shall all the happy shipmates then
NOTES
Gloucester town: Gloucester is a seaport town in Massachusetts, the chief seat of the cod and mackerel fisheries of the coast.
Jill-o'er-the-ground: Ground ivy; usually written Gill-over-the-ground.
Quaker-maid: Quaker ladies; small blue flowers growing low on the ground.
wax-red: The huckleberry blossom is red and waxy.