Page:Morning-Glories and Other Stories.djvu/204

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THE NAUTILUS.

A FAIRY BOAT-SONG.


Launch our boat from the yellow sand,
Say farewell to the blooming land,
Furl airy wings, fold the mantles blue,
Drink one last cup of honey dew;
For we must leave our fairy home
On a moonlight voyage through the foam.
      Spread the silken sail
      To the summer gale,
  Low singing across the sea;
      Float away, float away,
      Through foam and spray,
  As if o'er a flowery lea!

Oh! fear no storm nor cloudy frown,
Though mightier ships than ours go down:
Our helmsman laughs at the wildest gale,
As he drops anchor and furls his sail;
For He who guides the sparrow's wing,
Whose love upholds the frailest thing,
      Has given a spell,
      To protect the shell
  Through the waves' tumultuous flow.
      When tempest-tost,
      Unwrecked, unlost,
  It sinks to calmer depths below.

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