I FISHERMAN, fisherman, why do you weep, Hauling your nets 'neath the moon? Silvery shadows steal over the deep, And the billows are all aswoon. II There is that in your face, my sweet mermaid, Which recalleth a long-lost child: Far down in the deep is my darling laid, Whom the glittering mere beguiled. III O better the waters should fold and keep Your little one in her shroud, Than ever your famish'd eyes should weep A heart grown cold and proud! IV If, but for a moment, she might draw near— Should I find her heart grown cold? She would rush to my arms, my joyous dear, And greet me as of old. V O vain is the love of all mortal kind! And vain are the tears you shed! Ere yon pale sickle wane, you will wish you were blind. Or else that your child were dead. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHAMBER MUSIC: 13 by JAMES JOYCE THE SMALLISH SON by HAYDEN CARRUTH THE CROSS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON VOLUPTAS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON LINES ON CARMEN SYLVA by EMMA LAZARUS MY LIGHT WITH YOURS by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: TENNESSEE CLAFLIN SHOPE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |