Ships That Sail in the Night

DYSART McMULLEN
IN Munsey's Magazine
Permission to reproduce in this book

"Not a light visible. Not a man above the deck."-From a correspondent's description.

HAIL and farewell,
Ships that pass to the sea!
Hail and a long farewell,
Soldiers of destiny!

Not with rolling of drums,
Not with music and songs,
Not with laughter and weeping,
Or cheering of passionate throngs;

But silently, as is fitting, 
Gray ghosts passing from sight;
Great ships like sea-gulls flitting
Against the curtain of night. 

Media: <html xmlns:tei="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0"><body><h1 align="center" class="head">Ships That Sail in the Night</h1><p class="byline"> DYSART McMULLEN <br xmlns:exist="http://exist.sourceforge.net/NS/exist" xmlns:html="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"/><span class="smallcaps">IN Munsey's Magazine</span><br xmlns:exist="http://exist.sourceforge.net/NS/exist" xmlns:html="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"/> Permission to reproduce in this book</p><p class="epigraph"></p><p xmlns:exist="http://exist.sourceforge.net/NS/exist" xmlns:html="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">"Not a light visible. Not a man above the deck."-From a correspondent's description.</p><div class="stanza"><p class="line">HAIL and farewell,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Ships that pass to the sea!</p><p class="line">Hail and a long farewell,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Soldiers of destiny!</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Not with rolling of drums,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Not with music and songs,</p><p class="line">Not with laughter and weeping,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Or cheering of passionate throngs;</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">But silently, as is fitting, </p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Gray ghosts passing from sight;</p><p class="line">Great ships like sea-gulls flitting</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Against the curtain of night. </p></div></body></html>