Oh! say you so, bold sailor
In the sun-lit deeps of sky!
Dost thou so soon the seed-time tell
In thy imperial cry,
As circling in yon shoreless sea
Thine unseen form goes drifting by?
I cannot trace in the noon-day glare
Thy regal flight, O crane!
From the leaping might of the fiery light
Mine eyes recoil in pain,
But on mine ear, thine echoing cry
Falls like a bugle strain.
The mellow soil glows beneath my feet,
Where lies the buried grain;
The warm light floods the length and breadth
Of the vast, dim, shimmering plain,
Throbbing with heat and the nameless thrill
Of the birth-time’s restless pain.
On weary wing, plebeian geese
Push on their arrowy line
Straight into the north, or snowy brant
In dazzling sunshine, gloom and shine;
But thou, O crane, save for thy sovereign cry,
At thy majestic height
On proud, extended wings sweep’st on
In lonely, easeful flight.
Then cry, thou martial-throated herald!
Cry to the sun, and sweep
And swing along thy mateless, tireless course
Above the clouds that sleep
Afloat on lazy air – cry on! Send down
Thy trumpet note – it seems
The voice of hope and dauntless will,
And breaks the spell of dreams.
(Hamlin Garland)
More Poetry from Hamlin Garland:
Hamlin Garland Poems based on Topics: Dreams, Light, Pain, Sadness, Cry, Laziness, Hope- The Ute Lover (Hamlin Garland Poems)
- The Gold-Seekers (Hamlin Garland Poems)
- In the Grass (Hamlin Garland Poems)
- A Tribute of Grasses (Hamlin Garland Poems)
- A Wish (Hamlin Garland Poems)
- The Massasauga (Hamlin Garland Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Light Poems, Sadness Poems, Dreams Poems, Cry Poems, Hope Poems, Pain Poems, Laziness PoemsBased on Keywords: seed-time, plebeian, easeful, mateless, brant, birth-time
- The Jamestown Anniversary Ode (James Barron Hope Poems)
- The Demon Of The Study (John Greenleaf Whittier Poems)
- For The Carrier Of The Mirror. 1826 (John Gardiner Calkins Brainard Poems)
- Hymn To Light (Abraham Cowley Poems)
- Upon The Death Of, Mr. Addison; Inscrib'd To The Earl Of Warwick (Nicholas Amhurst Poems)