Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882). Complete Poetical Works. 1893.
Ultima ThuleFolk-Songs. Maiden and Weathercock
With your golden feathers all on fire,
Tell me, what can you see from your perch
Above there over the tower of the church?
And the people moving to and fro,
And beyond, without either roof or street,
The great salt sea, and the fishermen’s fleet.
Beyond the headlands and harbor of Lynn,
And a young man standing on the deck,
With a silken kerchief round his neck.
And now he is kissing his finger-tips,
And now he is lifting and waving his hand,
And blowing the kisses toward the land.
That is bringing my lover back to me,
Bringing my lover so fond and true,
Who does not change with the wind like you.
It is only because they made me so,
And people would think it wondrous strange,
If I, a Weathercock, should not change.
With your dreamy eyes and your golden hair,
When you and your lover meet to-day
You will thank me for looking some other way.