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Poems for the Sea.
As when with streaming eyes she stood
Her last farewell to speak,
When from her pleasant cottage door
I made such haste to flee,
And in my wilful haste forsook
Her kindness for the sea.
That Book divine, which bids us shun
The dread, undying flame,
Doth strictly for our parent-guides,
A filial reverence claim;
But mother, mother, kind and dear,
How have I honored thee?
With many a pang thy love was paid,
Before I went to sea.
God give me grace to see thy face,
And soothe thy sorrowing care,
And freely with thy feeble age
My hard-earned pittance share,
And hear thee speak in loving tones
The words so sweet to me,
Thy blessing on the lost and found,
The son who went to sea.
