An Exiles Farewell

The ocean heaves around us still     With long and measured swell,     The autumn gales our canvas fill,     Our ship rides smooth and well.     The broad Atlantics bed of foam     Still breaks against our prow;     I shed no tears at quitting home,     Nor will I shed them now!     Against the bulwarks on the poop     I lean, and watch the sun     Behind the red horizon stoop,     His race is nearly run.     Those waves will never quench his light,     Oer which they seem to close,     To-morrow he will rise as bright     As he this morning rose.     How brightly gleams the orb of day     Across the trackless sea!     How lightly dance the waves that play     Like dolphins in our lee!     The restless waters seem to say,     In smothered tones to me,     How many thousand miles away     My native land must be!     Speak, Ocean! is my Home the same     Now all is new to me?     The tropic skys resplendent flame,     The vast expanse of sea?     Does all around her, yet unchanged,     The well-known aspect wear?     Oh! can the leagues that I have ranged     Have made no difference there?     How vivid Recollections hand     Recalls the scene once more!     I see the same tall poplars stand     Beside the garden door;     I see the bird-cage hanging still;     And where my sister set     The flowers in the window-sill,     Can they be living yet?     Let womans nature cherish grief,     I rarely heave a sigh     Before emotion takes relief     In listless apathy;     While from my pipe the vapours curl     Towards the evening sky,     And neath my feet the billows whirl     In dull monotony!     The sky still wears the crimson streak     Of Sols departing ray,     Some briny drops are on my cheek,     Tis but the salt sea spray!     Then let our barque the ocean roam,     Our keel the billows plough;     I shed no tears at quitting home,     Nor will I shed them now!