IT'S ho! for a song as wild and free As the swash of the waves in the open sea; It's ho! for a song as unconfined As the hawk that sails in the summer wind; A song for a vagabond's heart and brain, Refreshing and sweet as the roving rain That chants to the thirsty earth, Yo ho! A song of rollicking mirth, Yo ho! A song of the grass and grain! It's ho! for a vagabond's life, say I, A vagabond live and a vagabond die; It's ho! to roam in the solitudes And chum with the birds in the vagrom woods, To sleep with flowers, and wash in dew, To dream of a love that is ever new, — A love that never grows stale, Yo ho! Like a cask of rum or ale, Yo ho! A love that is ever true. It's ho! for a stretch of the dusty road, Or here a meadow, or there a lode; It's ho! to hear in the early morn The yellow allegro of tasselled corn; To sail in fancy the golden main Where breezes billow the seas of grain, And the swallow that skims the tips, Yo ho! Are richly cargoed ships, Yo ho! Outbound for the ports of Spain! It's ho! for the smell of the sap that swims, When the maples sweat like an athlete's limbs; It's ho! for the joys that crowd the spring, The brawl of brooks, the birds that sing; To wander at will the summer through, Indifferent to blame, careless of due; — In winter the kiss that slips Yo ho! From a nut-brown naiad's lips, Yo ho! And the love that lies in her eyes of blue! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE MOUNTAIN by HAYDEN CARRUTH ALIENS (TO YOU - EVERYWHERE! DEDICATED) by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON MODULATIONS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON ITALIAN PICTURES: THE COSTA SAN GIORGIO by MINA LOY STUDY FOR A GEOGRAPHICAL TRAIL; 4. NEW JERSEY by CLARENCE MAJOR I PAY MY DEBT FOR LAFAYETTE AND ROCHAMBEAU' by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: WILLIAM AND EMILY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |