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NAHANT SONG

Nahant is lovely ! away we go,
O’er the polished beach, when the tide is low ;
And we mark the gleam of our horse’s feet,
Deep mirrored, as in a crystal street !

We flit along o’er the shining sand,
Far out in the tide, away from land ;
And we seem in the middle air to go,
With the sky above,  and the sky below !

The sand street shines like a path of glass,
Where the visions seem doubled as we pass ;
And beautiful scenes to our eyes unfold,
Like pageants that eastern bards have told !

The white gull floats in the bright blue air,
Her scream is loud as we pass her there ;
And the small birds run, with motion fleet,
On the line where the sand and billows meet.

White sails are gleaming far on the tide ;
The shy wild fowl o’er the surges ride ;
The seal comes forth from his home in the deep,
On the kelpy ledge of the cliff to sleep !

The thin wave is striped with the long sea sedge,
The star-fish comes to the water’s edge ;
And the green sea plants, and pearly shells,
Float up to our feet when the billow swells !

Nahant forever ! – the scene is fair ;
The Swallows’ Cave and the Grot are there ;
And the Spouting Horn, when full waves come,
Sends out its thunder in sparking foam.

We sit on the rocks, and we sport in the wave ;
We gather the shells which the surges lave ;
And we drink pure health in the floating breeze,
That is poured from the urns of the rolling seas.

from: The Poetical Works of Alonzo Lewis  edited by Ion Lewis (Boston: A. Williams & Co.)  1883.