Poems (Strong)/Cruising
CRUISING
I sit upon the vessel's prow As o'er the wave she lightly speeds,Like great white wings her sails she spreads And seems to rival Neptune's steeds.
She cleaves the water with her bow, Caressingly it foams and surges,And upward flings a wreath of spray, Which glistens ere with wave it merges.
The white gulls circling far above Are scarcely freer than are we,With all the world from which to choose To penetrate its mystery.
O'er trackless fields of azure depths, Explorers bold in sooth we are;No printed footstep here is found, Reminder of the strife afar,
But stretches of unbroken blue, Wave meeting sky in tender haze,While, near us, rainbow-tinted drops Sparkle and dance. Oh, halcyon days!
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., CIRCA 1892