THE OLD CRY
IF only ages ago
I had buried my restless heart
Under mountains of snow
In a lonely place apart,
I could bring it now to her,
Locked with a silver key;
And its shadowy pearls would never stir
From that sweet sanctuary.
Oh wind that wafted my boat
To the isles where the Sirens sing,
Somewhere — washed up upon sands remote
Those pearls he glittering.
Gather them, gather them up,
Oh wind, and bring them to me
In a misty foam-wreathed cup —
The pearls that I lost in the sea.
Dim with the salt are they,
Blurred and bleached with the sun;
But, gathered from far away.
Bring them back, every one;
That Iain once more at rest
Where her heart beats and feels.
They may sleep forever against her breast,
Sealed with a thousand seals!
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1927.
The author died in 1963, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 50 years or less. This work may also be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.