In the Offing

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In the Offing by Florence Earle Coates Fugitive verse

The Smile of Reims→

As rendered in The Minaret (May 1917):

In the Offing as it appeared in the May 1917 issue of The Minaret.

IN THE OFFING

The Ship of the Spring in the offing at last!  Oh, rude blew the hindering gales, But perfumes entrancing, the danger o'erpast,  Are wafted afar, from her sails! The bearer of treasure more fragrant than myrrh—  More precious than jewels of Inde, The stars in their courses keep watch over her,  The gods for her temper the wind. She comes as a maid whom life's vision elates,  Out-spreading her draperies white; She comes as a bride whom a lover awaits  With proud and impatient delight. A queen, as she glides to the goal of her dreams  With movement majestic and slow, So still is her beauty, half-conscious she seems,—  But the heart in her breast is aglow; For she hears the far murmur of myriad things  That shall at her coming have birth. O sails in the offing! ye are as the wings  Of angels that bring her to Earth! Florence Earle Coates.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1923. The author died in 1927, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 80 years or less. This work may also be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.