Sappho and Phaon, by Mary Robinson, [1796], at sacred-texts.com
Far oer the waves my lofty Bark shall glide,
Loves frequent sighs the fluttring sails shall swell,
While to my native home I bid farewell,
Hopes snowy hand the burnisd helm shall guide!
Tritons shall sport admidst the yielding tide,
Myriads of Cupids round the prow shall dwell,
And Venus, thrond within her opal shell,
Shall proudly oer the glittring billows ride!
Young Dolphins, dashing in the golden spray,
Shall with their scaly forms illume the deep
Tingd with the purple flush of sinking day,
Whose flaming wreath shall crown the distant steep;
While on the breezy deck soft minstrels play,
And songs of love, the lover soothe to sleep!