All Things Human

The Watcher
by Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879)

The night was dark and fearful,
   The blast swept wailing by;
A Watcher, pale and tearful,
   Look

The West
by John Reed (1887-1920)

Gulls to their home on the aged rock
   Wheeling athwart the spray,
Thrill of the wind from the isles of Ind
   In the heart of the dying day.

Dreams in the depths of the solemn pines
   Ancient before our birth,
Hearing the speech of the plains that reach
   To the ends of the happy earth.

Out of the years that have passed away
   Out of the days to be,
Night brings the pang of the salt air

Across the Red Sky
by Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923)

Across the red sky two birds flying,
Flying with drooping wings.
Silent and solitary their ominous flight.
All day the triumphant sun with yellow banners
Warred and warred with the earth, and when she yielded
Stabbed her heart, gathered her blood in a chalice,
Spilling it over the evening sky.
When the dark plumaged birds go flying, flying,
Quiet lies the earth wrapt in her mournful shadow,
Her sightless eyes turned to the red sky
And the restlessly seeking birds.

Song (

Before Exile
by Louise Mack (1870-1935)

Here is my last good-bye,
   This side the sea.
Good-bye! good-bye! good-bye!
   Love me, remember me.

This is my last good-bye,
   This side the sea.
I bless, I pledge, I cling,
   Love me, remember me.

This is my last good-bye
   To each dear tree,
To every silent plain,
   Love me, remember me.

This is my last good-bye,
   This side the sea.
O friends! O enemies!
   Love me, remember me.

You will remain, but I
   Must cross the sea.
My heart is faint with love,
   O Land! remember me.

You will not even ask
   What claim has she.
She loved us, she has gone