The Poetry Corner

Sometime.

By Marietta Holley

On the shore I sit and gaze Out on the twilight sea, For my ship may come, though many days I have waited patiently; With waiting trusting eyes, A lonely watch I keep For its silver sails to rise Like a blossom out of the deep. It is built of a costly wood, Bearing the strange perfume Of the gorgeous solitude, Where it grew in tropical gloom; And the odorous scent, the spicy balm Of its isle it will bear to me, As I stand on the shore, in the magic calm. And my ship come in from sea. It is laden with all that is sweet Of the beauty of every clime; Slowly and proudly 'twill glide to my feet In the eve of that fair "Sometime," Before me its sails will be furled, A princess I shall be, Crowned with the wealth of the world, When my ship comes in from sea. Sweet faces I then shall see, Tender, undoubting, true, Soft hands will be stretched to me With a welcome I never knew; In the peace of such tenderness I shall rest forevermore, And weep in my perfect bliss, As I never wept before. Sometimes I think it is not far And I bend my head and list, For I think I see a slender spar Gleam through the golden mist; And I fancy I hear the sound Of wind in a silken sail, And an odor rare from Eastern ground, Floats in on the languid gale. But I sit and watch the west Till the sun goes down, in vain; It was only a cloud with an ivory crest, A cloud of vapor and rain; It rises and hides the sea, And my heart grows chill and numb, Lest this terrible thing should be, That my ship will never come. But the morn is bright - the wave Is a golden and shining track, Softly the waters the white sands lave, And my trusting faith comes back; Oh, all that I ever lost, And all that I long to be, Will be mine when the deep is crossed, And my ship comes home from sea.