A Poem: Or Extracts from the Diary of an Officer in the East.
Farewell To England.
TEN thousand blessings rest upon the head
Of that Italian who first wrote the rhyme
Men call Ottava Rima! He is dead:
Alas! But his Etruscan verse can chime
With every subject, and its music wed
With every theme – heroic and sublime,
Or light and humorous, histories or tales –
‘Twill suit, methinks, “A Voyage to New South Wales.”
Behold the settler leave his native land,
With many a parting sigh and sad adieu;
High on the good ship’s gunwale see him stand,
Till the blue mountains vanish from his view.
Then see the struggling tear burst slowly, and
Roll down his careworn visage, pale of hue!
The good ship spreads her flowing sails the while –
Farewell for ever to yon happy isle!
Buoyant with hope, now see him stem the waves
That roll magnificent in Biscay’s Bay,
Where myriads of bold sailors find their graves,
As o’er the deep they wend their trackless way.
Full many a field of sculls thy water laves,
Bay of unnumbered wrecks! But yesterday
A stout ship pooped a sea in this vile place,
And down she went, leaving nor wreck nor trace!
(John Dunmore Lang)
More Poetry from John Dunmore Lang:
John Dunmore Lang Poems based on Topics: Hope, Place, England, Poetry, Literature- The King And The Abbot. (John Dunmore Lang Poems)
- My Dream. (John Dunmore Lang Poems)
- Ode To Glasgow College (John Dunmore Lang Poems)
- Verses - III (John Dunmore Lang Poems)
- The Female Convict's Death. (John Dunmore Lang Poems)
- The Irish Stew. (John Dunmore Lang Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Place Poems, Hope Poems, Literature Poems, Poetry Poems, England PoemsBased on Keywords: etruscan, gunwale, extracts, biscay, sculls, pooped, rima