Classic Poem

ON A SUMMER'S DAY when the sea was rippled
By a soft and gentle breeze,
A ship set sail for a harbor laden
To a port beyond the seas.
There were fond farewells and loving signals
While her form was yet discerned,
But they knew not 'twas a solemn parting,
For the ship has never returned.

Chorus:

Did she ever return? No, she never returned,
And her fate is yet unlearned;
And for years and years fond hearts have been waiting
For the ship that never returned.

Said a feeble youth to his aged mother,
" I must cross the wide, wide sea,
For they say perchance in a foreign clime
There is health and strength for me. "
'Twas a gleam of hope 'mid a maze of danger,
And her heart for her youngest yearned,
So she sent him forth with smiles and blessings
In the ship that never returned.