The Child and the Mariner

A dear old couple my grandparents were,

And kind to all dumb things; they saw in Heaven

The lamb that Jesus petted when a child;

Their faith was never draped by Doubt: to them

Death was a rainbow in Eternity,

That promised everlasting brightness soon.

An old seafaring man was he; a rough

Old man, but kind: and hairy, like the nut

Full of sweet milk. All day on shore he watched

The winds for sailors’ wives, and told what ships

Enjoyed fair weather, and what ships had storms;

He watched the sky, and he could tell for sure

What afternoons would follow stormy morns

If quiet nights would end wild afternoons

He leapt away from scandal with a roar,

And if a whisper still possessed his mind,

He walked about and cursed it for a plague.

He took offence at Heaven when beggars passed,

And sternly called them back to give them help.