SELECTIONS IN ENGLISH POETRY
She sits at her wheel in the humming town,
Singing most joyfully.
Hark what she sings: "O joy, O joy,
For the humming street, and the child with its toy;        90
For the priest, and the bell, and the holy well;
For the wheel where I spun,
And the blessed light of the sun!"
And so she sings her fill,
Singing most joyfully,	95
Till the spindle drops from her hand,
And the whizzing wheel stands still.
She steals to the window, and looks at the sand,
And over the sand at the sea;
*And her eyes are set in a stare;	100
And anon there breaks a sigh,
And anon there drops a tear,
From a sorrow-clouded eye,
And a heart sorrow-laden,
A long, long sigh;	105
For the cold strange eyes of a little mermaiden
And the gleam of her golden hair.
Come away, away, children;
Come, children, come down!
The hoarse wind blows colder;	no
Lights shine in the town.
She will start from her slumber
When gusts shake the door;
She will hear the winds howling,
Will hear the waves roar.	115
We shall see, while above us
The waves roar and whirl,
A ceiling of amber,
A pavement of pearl,
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