Nocturne
by Sadakichi Hartmann (1867-1944)
Upon the silent sea-swept land The dreams of night fall soft and gray, The waves fade on the jeweled sand Like some lost hope of yesterday.
The dreams of night fall soft and gray Upon the summer-colored seas, Like some lost hope of yesterday, The sea-mew’s song is on the breeze.
Upon the summer-colored seas Sails gleam and glimmer ghostly white, The sea-mew’s song is on the breeze Lost in the monotone of night.
Sails gleam and glimmer ghostly white, They come and slowly drift away, Lost in the monotone of night, Like visions of a summer-day.
They shift and slowly drift away Like lovers’ lays that wax and wane, The visions of a summer-day Whose dreams we ne’er will dream again.
Like lovers’ lays wax and wane The star dawn shifts from sail to sail, Like dreams we ne’er will dream again; The sea-mews follow on their trail.
The star dawn shifts from sail to sail, As they drift to the dim unknown, The sea-mews follow on their trail In quest of some dreamland zone.
In quest of some far dreamland zone, Of some far silent sea-swept land, They are lost in the dim unknown, Where waves fade on jeweled sand And dreams of night fall soft and gray, Like some lost hope of yesterday.
