Poems of Felicia Hemans in The Literary Souvenir, 1827/The Distant Ship

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For other versions of this work, see The Distant Ship.


THE DISTANT SHIP.

BY MRS. HEMANS.


I.
The sea-bird's wing, o'er ocean's breast,
    Shoots like a glancing star,
While the red radiance of the west
    Spreads kindling fast and far;
And yet that splendour wins thee not,—
    Thy still and thoughtful eye
Dwells but on one dark, distant spot
    Of all the main and sky.

II.
Look round thee!—o'er the slumbering deep
    A solemn glory broods;
A fire hath touched the beacon-steep,
    And all the golden woods:
A thousand gorgeous clouds on high
    Burn with the amber light;—
What spell, from that rich pageantry,
    Chains down thy gazing sight?


III.
A chastening thought of human cares,
    A feeling, linked to earth!
Is not yon speck a bark, which bears
    The loved of many a hearth?
Oh! do not hope, and grief, and fear,
    Crowd her frail world even now,
And manhood's prayer and woman's tear
    Follow her venturous prow?

IV.
Bright are the floating clouds above,
    The glittering seas below;
But we are bound by cords of love
    To kindred weal and woe!
Therefore, amidst this wide array
    Of glorious things and fair,
My soul is on that bark's lone way,
    For human hearts are there.