WATER.
Oh! what is there on the sluggard land
That I love so well to mark,
In the hallowed light of the still midnight;
As I do a dancing bark!
That I love so well to mark,
In the hallowed light of the still midnight;
As I do a dancing bark!
The ivied tower looks well in that hour,
And so does an old church spire;
When the gilded vane, and Gothic pane,
Seem tinged with quivering fire.
And so does an old church spire;
When the gilded vane, and Gothic pane,
Seem tinged with quivering fire.
The hills shine out in the mellow ray,
The love-bower gathers a charm;
And beautiful is the chequering play
On the willow's graceful arm.
The love-bower gathers a charm;
And beautiful is the chequering play
On the willow's graceful arm.
But the world below holds not for me
Such a fair and glorious sight
As a brave ship floating on the sea
In the full moon's placid light.
Such a fair and glorious sight
As a brave ship floating on the sea
In the full moon's placid light.
WATER.
Wine, wine, thy power and praise
Have ever been echo'd in minstrel lays;
But Water, I deem, hath a mightier claim.
To fill up a niche in the temple of Fame.
Ye who are bred in Anacreon's school
May sneer at my strain, as the song of a fool.
Ye are wise, no doubt, but have yet to learn.
How the tongue can cleave, and the veins can burn.
Have ever been echo'd in minstrel lays;
But Water, I deem, hath a mightier claim.
To fill up a niche in the temple of Fame.
Ye who are bred in Anacreon's school
May sneer at my strain, as the song of a fool.
Ye are wise, no doubt, but have yet to learn.
How the tongue can cleave, and the veins can burn.
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