Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916.
MessmatesSir Henry John Newbolt (18621938)
H
At the first dawn of day;
We dropped him down the side full drearily
When the light died away.
It ’s a dead, dark watch that he ’s a-keeping there,
And a long, long night that lags a-creeping there,
Where the Trades and the tides roll over him
And the great ships go by.
For a thousand miles round;
He ’s there alone with dumb things mocking him,
And we’re homeward bound.
It ’s a long, lone watch that he ’s a-keeping there,
And a dead, cold night that lags a-creeping there,
While the months and the years roll over him
And the great ships go by.
As they thrash to and fro,
And the battle-ships’ bells ring clear enough
To be heard down below;
If through all the lone watch that he ’s a-keeping there,
And the long, cold night that lags a-creeping there,
The voices of the sailor-men shall comfort him
When the great ships go by.