CAPTAIN LEAN

Out of the East a hurricane

Swept down on Captain Lean —

That mariner and gentleman

Will never again be seen.

He sailed his ship against the foes

Of his own country dear,

But now in the trough of the billows

An aimless course doth steer.

Powder was violets to his nostrils,

Sweet the din of the fighting-line,

Now he is flotsam on the seas,

And his bones are bleached with brine.

The stars move up along the sky,

The moon she shines so bright,

And in that solitude the foam

Sparkles unearthly white.

This is the tomb of Captain Lean,

Would a straiter please his soul?

I trow he sleeps in peace,

Howsoever the billows roll!