Poems (Holmes)/A Brother Lost at Sea

by Alice Ann Holmes

A Brother lost at Sea.

Oh say, ye winds, that softly blow,
 What tidings do ye bear
From seas whereon my brother sails?
 Or have ye not been there?

Alas! ye seem to whisper low,
 We bring a gentle breeze;
The hoarser, stronger winds belong
 To far-off' stormy seas.

Then say, ye stars that nightly gaze
 In silence o'er the sea,
Are ye with no commission charged
 Of brother's love to me?

Alas! ye seem to answer, No,
 And dip your brilliant light
Far in in the deep blue inky skies,
 And gleaming say, good night.

But thou, night's fair, majestic queen,
 That gives the seaman light,
Hast thou no news from distant seas,
 Or word from waters bright?

Alas! to me thy mild response
 Is whispered in the breeze,
Though I am known in every land,
 I bear no tales of seas.

But what sayst thou, great king of day,
 When dancing o'er the wave,
Didst thou no gallant vessel spy,
 Manned by young sailors brave?

She was a noble, gallant craft,
 That held my brother's form;
And she sped o'er the boundless main,
 As lightning through the storm.

But ah, alas! thy steady gaze
 Is on the ocean's breast,
As if by gesture thou wouldst say,
 Here in the deep he rests.

And now to me the sea-bird's scream
 Is wafted o'er the surge;
Oh, I will join with her and sing
 His melancholy dirge.

Oh, fare thee well, young seaman bold,
 For thou didst nobly stand,
While mighty winds the billows tossed,
 And drove thy bark from land.

But oh, at length a mighty wave
 Thy manly form o'erthrew;
And now thou sleep'st beneath the wave,
 Beside thy gallant crew.

Here rest ye, oh my brother, rest,
 Till the resurrection morn;
The sea shall then give up her dead,
 That to her depths are borne.