When softly gathering shades of ev'n
Creep o'er the prairies broad and green,
And countless stars bespangle heav'n,
And fringe the clouds with silv'ry sheen,
My fondest sigh to thee is giv'n,
My lonely wandering soldier boy;
And thoughts of thee
Steal over me
Like ev'ning shades, my soldier boy.
My brother, though thou'rt far away,
And dangers hurtle round thy path,
And battle lightnings o'er thee play,
And thunders peal in awful wrath,
Think, whilst thou'rt in the hot affray,
Thy sister prays for thee, my boy.
If fondest prayer
Can shield thee there
Sweet angels guard my soldier boy.
Thy proud young heart is beating high
To clash of arms and cannons' roar;
That firm-set lip and flashing eye
Tell how thy heart is brimming o'er.
Be free and live, be free or die;
Be that thy motto now, my boy;
And though thy name's
Unknown to fame's,
'Tis graven on my heart, my boy.
Sea-Weeds
Written in Exile.
By Annie Chambers Ketchum.
Friend of the thoughtful mind and gentle heart!
Beneath the citron-tree--
Deep calling to my soul's profounder deep--
I hear the Mexique Sea.
While through the night rides in the spectral surf
Along the spectral sands,
And all the air vibrates, as if from harps
Touched by phantasmal hands.
Bright in the moon the red pomegranate flowers
Lean to the Yucca's bells,
While with her chrism of dew, sad Midnight fills
The milk-white asphodels.
Watching all night--as I have done before--
I count the stars that set,
Each writing on my soul some memory deep
Of Pleasure or Regret;