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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


BOSQUE DE VIENA by ARTHUR PETERSON

First Line: NORTHWARD OUR GALLANT VESSEL STEAMS / ACROSS THE DARK-BLUE OCEAN
Last Line: THY MEMORY, ANITA!

1

Northward our gallant vessel steams
Across the dark-blue ocean;
Its mighty waters lie in dreams --
We scarcely feel a motion.

Our bandsmen gay, at set of sun,
On deck appear; and then -- ah --
That waltz of all the sweetest one --
The "Bosque de Viena."

Dear strain! Oft have I danced to thee
With dark-eyed senorita,
But now thou ever bring'st to me
The memory of Anita!

2

Where stretches Andes giant chain
Beside the blue Pacific
She dwelt; would I could live again
Those hours so beatific,

That night we danced till rose the sun
'Midst crimson and sienna,
That waltz of all the sweetest one --
The "Bosque de Viena,"

When, as we heard the music start,
She said, "We soon must sever;
'Tis our last dance before we part;
Our last -- perhaps forever!"

3

Dear girl, across the ocean's brine
Once more I roam, but never
Shall I forget those words of thine --
"Our last -- perhaps forever?"

That morn when rose the Andes sun
'Midst crimson and sienna,
That waltz of all the sweetest one --
The "Bosque de Viena."

Ah no, though many years or few
Shall part us, Senorita,
Those dulcet strains are sacred to
Thy memory, Anita!



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