“England, Farewell.”

“ENGLAND, FAREWELL.”

A MOTHER stood upon the deck, her boy,
Her youngest, by her side, taking a last
Fond look of their dear native fatherland;
How sad the thoughts that crowd into her brain,
Thoughts of her childhood home and parents dear!
Brothers and sisters, every chosen spot,
Now rise before her mind, and sick at heart
She turns away, to hide the falling tears.
Oh! hard the fate that drives away from home
Hearts so attached, to seek in lands afar,
Amid the wilderness or forest rude,
By labor and by suffering, to gain
The livelihood denied on parent soil.
From off the shore the wind is blowing strong,
Filling the sails; and dashing on her course,
The brave ship hastens to her destined port
Across the broad Atlantic’s watery waste.
No more the village green and ancient church,
Or ruined tower with clambering ivy clad,
Shall greet their eyes; but in their stead behold
The wonders of the deep, with dangers dire,
Oft threatening to o’erwhelm their struggling bark.
Or lauding safely on the distant shore,
Amid new scenes, new faces, all unused
To customs so peculiar, and so strange
To habits all confirmed in other lands,
Much there to suffer and much there to learn,
How fierce the struggle even here for food!
But not all dark; the picture oft is bright,
And where the heart is brave and hands are strong,
A comfortable and a prosperous home
Is often made, and children reared to toil,
Become established, and become attached
To the new world, prefer it to the old.
Another instance of o’erruling power,
Converting seeming evil into good.
Mourn not, then, O dear exile! for the home
Thy childhood knew; but look with fresher hope
Upon the home adopted by thy choice.
Here may thy children and thy grandchildren,
To remotest times, find peace and plenty.