As I came round the harbour buoy,
The lights began to gleam,
No wave the land-locked water stirred,
The crags were white as cream;
And I marked my love by candle-light
Sewing her long white seam.
It's aye sewing ashore, my dear,
Watch and steer at sea,
It's reef and furl, and haul the line,
Set sail and think of thee.

I climbed to reach her cottage door;
O sweetly my love sings!
Like a shaft of light her voice breaks forth,
My soul to meet it springs
As the shining water leaped of old,
When stirred by angel wings.

As I came over London Bridge
One misty morning early,
I overheard a fair pretty maid
Lamenting for her Geordie.

‘Come bridle me my milkwhite horse,
Come bridle me my pony,
That I may ride to London's court
To plead for the life of Geordie.

And when she entered in the hall,
There was lords and ladies plenty.
Down on her bended knee she fall,
To plead for the life of Geordie.’

‘Oh, Geordie stole no cow or calf,
Nor sheep he never stole any,
But he stole sixteen of the king's wild deer,
And sold them in Bohenny.

As I came down from Lebanon,
Came winding, wandering slowly down
Through mountain passes bleak and brown,
The cloudless day was well-nigh done.
The city, like an opal set
In emerald, showed each minaret
Afire with radiant beams of sun,
And glistened orange, fig, and lime,
Where song-birds made melodious chime,
As I came down from Lebanon.

As I came down from Lebanon,
Like lava in the dying glow,
Through olive orchards far below
I saw the murmuring river run;
And 'neath the wall upon the sand

" As I cam in by Glasgow town,
The Highland troops were a' before me,
And the bonniest lass that eer I saw,
She lives in Glasgow, they ca her Peggie.

" I wad gie my bonnie black horse,
So wad I my gude grey naigie,
If I were twa hundred miles in the north,
And nane wi me but my bonnie Peggie."

Up then spak her father dear,
Dear wow! but he was wondrous sorrie;
" Weel may ye steal a cow or a yowe,
But ye dare nae steal my bonnie Peggie."

Up then spak her mother dear,
Dear wow! but she spak wondrous sorrie;

In the dense scopes
Jupiter progenitor,
perfumed a Christian,
fishes in the reefs
with ancient weights
or sometimes wanders
an apocryphal white goat.

And Hrothgar the wandering scop,
heartrover among your fathers,
sails the North Sea
with a load of deerhides
and bird feathers
and two thousand tods
of whalebone for the Danes.

And Saracen physicians
under a pecan tree
discuss the heart.

These unconnected images no doubt
once represented agents
and fellows bearing yokes
but that is not the way

As honey in wine / wine, honey
Alexis in Cleobulus
Cleobulus in Alexis
sweet-haired & lovely each
as he with whom the other
mingles . . . product
of such two entwined
potent
as vineyards of deathless Cypris.

Jesus, almighty King of Blis,
Assumpsit carnem virgine.

As Holy Kirke makes mind,
Intravit ventris thalamum,
Fro Heven to erthe, to save monkind,
Pater misit Filium.

Of Mary milde Christe wolde be borne,
Sine virili semine,
To save monkind that was forlorne
Prime parentis crimine.

To Mary come a messenger,
Ferens salutem homini:
She answerd him with milde chere,
‘Ecce ancilla Domini.’

Mekely on thee the Holy Ghoste
Palacium intrans uteri:
Of all thing meknes is moste
In conspectu Altissimi.

And though in tinsel chain and popcorn rope
My tree, a captive in your window bay,
Has lost its footing on my mountain slope
And lost the stars of heaven, may, oh, may
The symbol star it lifts against your ceiling
Help me accept its fate with Christmas feeling.

1. As flows the rapid river, With channel broad and free,
2. As moons are ever waning, As hastes the sun away,
Its waters rippling ever, And hasting to the sea,
As storm and winds, complaining, Bring on the wintry day,
So life is onward flowing, And days of offered peace,
So fast the night comes o'er us, The darkness of the grave;
And man is swiftly going Where calls of mercy cease.
And death is just before us; God takes the life he gave.

3. Say, hath thy heart its treasure
Laid up in worlds above?
And is it all thy pleasure

As down the torrent of an angry flood
An earthen pot and a brass kettle flowed,
The heavy caldron sinking, and distressed
By its own weight, and the fierce waves oppressed,
Slyly bespoke the lighter vessel's aid,
And to the earthen pitcher friendly said,
" Come, brother, why should we divided lose
The strength of union and ourselves expose
To the insults of this poor, paltry stream,
Which with united forces we can stem?
Though different, heretofore, have been our parts,
The common danger reconciles our hearts.