His Steady Sails He Never Furls
His steady sails he never furls
At any time o’ year,
And perching now on Winter’s curls,
He whistles in his ear
This poem is in the public domain.
O Nature! I do not aspire
To be the highest in thy quire,—
To be a meteor in the sky,
Or comet that may range on high;
Only a zephyr that may blow
Among the reeds by the river low;
Give me thy most privy place
Where to run my airy race.
My love must be as free
As is the eagle’s wing,
Hovering o’er land and sea
And everything
I must not dim my eye
In thy saloon,
I must not leave my sky
And nightly moon
My life has been the poem I would have writ
But I could not both live and utter it.