When I Sail Away

Sometime at eve when the tide is low,
  I shall slip my mooring and sail away,
With no response to the friendly hail
  Of kindred craft in the busy bay;
In the silent hush of the twilight pale,
  When the night stoops down to embrace
     the day
And the voices call o'er the waters flow--
  Sometime at evening when the tide is low
I shall slip my moorings and sail away.

Through the purple shadows that darkly trail
  O'er the ebbing tide of the Unknown Sea,
I shall fare me away, with a dip of sail
  And a ripple of waters to tell the tale
Of a lonely voyager sailing away
  To Mystic Isles where at anchor lay
The crafts of those who have sailed before
  O'er the Unknown Sea to the Unknown
     Shore.

A few who have watched me sail away
  Will miss my craft from the busy bay;
Some friendly barks that were anchored near,
  Some loving hearts that my heart held
     dear,
In silent sorrow will drop a tear.
  But I shall have peacefully furled my sail
In moorings sheltered from storm or gale,
  And greeted the friends who have sailed
     before
O'er the Unknown Sea to the Unseen Shore.

--Lizzie Clark Hardy