The Doldrums

Out of a cloudless sky.Into a sapphire sea.To the tune of a windless sigh,That is drawn in the tops'les three,The sun sinks fast thro' a burning hazeTo the heart of the sapphire sea.

Over the shadowed deep.Topped with an oily swell,To the hours of the night asleepIn the chime of her muffled bellThe spent ship prays—and her spirit fails,On the heave of the sullen swell.••••

Fanning the crimson flareLit by the coming dawn,Thro' the hush in the breathless airOf the night that is past and gone.The wind speeds swift to the weary sails.In a song of the coming morn.

But away from the stifled ship.Fleeter than any wind.With a kiss on the twisted lipOf the face that she leaves behind,A breath steals forth—and the wind but playsOn a mask that is left behind.