Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
America: Vols. XXV–XXIX. 1876–79.
To a Sea-Bird
By Bret Harte (18361902)S
Careless vagabond of the sea,
Little thou heedest the surf that sings,
The bar that thunders, the shale that rings,—
Give me to keep thy company.
Storms and wrecks are old things to thee;
Sick am I of these changes too;
Little to care for, little to rue,—
I on the shore, and thou on the sea.
Bring thee at last to shore and me;
All of my journeyings end them here,
This our tether must be our cheer,—
I on the shore, and thou on the sea.
Something in common, old friend, have we;
Thou on the shingle seek’st thy nest,
I to the waters look for rest,—
I on the shore, and thou on the sea.