With canvas coarse for winding sheet
They shrouded him from head to feet,
Brushed from his brow the curls of gold,
And crossed his hands on his bosom cold.
Then a prayer was murmured low and soft,
While the rising winds in the shrouds aloft
Sang a mournful requiem, slow and sad—
A funeral dirge for the sailor lad.
Then a sob broke forth from each manly breast
As he slowly sank ’neath the blue wave’s crest;
O noble heart! so true and brave,
Sleep on in rest in your sailor’s grave.
Sleep on and fear no earthly harm,
Sleep! till the judgment’s dread alarm
Shall wake thee from thy dreamless sleep
And call thee from the silent deep.
**********
And the years roll on in grief and joy,
And a mother weeps for her fair-haired boy,
And a sister prays with a sob and tear
For the safe return of her brother dear.
And a maiden stands in a cottage door
Listening for a step that will come no more,
And she prays as she looks across the sea,
“God speed my darling back to me.”
And when at eve in the glowing west
The golden sun sinks down to rest
They often watch the fading light
And say, “Perhaps he will come to-night.”
