The Transports
Poetical Version of Sully Prud’homme’s “Les Berceaux”
The long tide lifts each might boat Asleep and nodding on the dock, Of the little cradles they take no note Which the tender-hearted mothers rock.
But time brings round the Day of Good-Byes For it’s women’s fate to weep and endure, While curious men attempt the skies And follow wherever horizons lure.
Yet the mighty boats on that morning tide When they flee away from the dwindling lands Will feel the clutch of mother hands And the soul of the far-off cradleside.
[signed]Robert Hughes