Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BALLADE OF AUGUST, by PATRICK REGINALD CHALMERS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BALLADE OF AUGUST, by                    
First Line: Now, when the street-pent airs blow stale
Last Line: Neath other skies, 'mid stranger men!
Subject(s): August; Sailing & Sailors; Seamen; Sails


NOW, when the street-pent airs blow stale
A longing stirs us as of yore
To take the old Odyssian trail,
To bend upon the trireme's oar
For isléd stream and hill-bound shore;
To lay aside the dirty pen
For summer's blue and golden store
'Neath other skies, 'mid stranger men!

Then let the rover's call prevail
That opes for us the enchanted door,
That bids us spread the silken sail
For bays o'er which the seabirds soar,
And foam-flecked rollers pitch and roar,
Where nymph maybe, and mermaiden,
Come beachward in the moon-rise hoar,
'Neath other skies, 'mid stranger men!

Blue-eyed Calypsos, Circes pale
(The sage who shuns them I abhor),
These—for a fortnight—shall not fail
To thrill the heart's susceptive core,
To bind us with their ancient lore,
Who rather like to listen when
Sweet-lipped the sirens voice their score,
'Neath other skies, 'mid stranger men!

ENVOY

Masters, who seek the minted ore,
It's only August now and then,
Ah, take the Wanderer's way once more,
'Neath other skies, 'mid stranger men!





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