Surface Rights

A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904)

Drifting, drifting down the River,

Tawny current and foam-flecked tide,

Sorrowful songs of lonely boatmen,

Mournful forests on either side.

Thine are the outcrops’ glittering blocks,

The quartz where the rich pyrites gleam,

The golden treasure of unhewn rocks

And the loose gold in the stream.

But,–the dim vast forests along the shore,

That whisper wonderful things o’ nights,–

These are things that I value more,

My beautiful “surface rights.”

Drifting, drifting down the River,–

Stars a-tremble about the sky–

Ah, my lover, my heart is breaking,

Breaking, breaking, I know not why.

Why is Love such a sorrowful thing?

This I never could understand;

Pain and passion are linked together,

Ever I find them hand in hand.

Loose thy hair in its soft profusion,

Let thy lashes caress thy cheek,–

These are the things that express thy spirit,

What is the need to explain or speak?

Drifting, drifting along the River,

Under the light of a wan low moon,

Steady, the paddles; Boatmen, steady,–

Why should we reach the sea so soon?

See where the low spit cuts the water,

What is that misty wavering light?

Only the pale datura flowers

Blossoming through the silent night.

What is the fragrance in thy tresses?

‘T is the scent of the champa’s breath;

The meaning of champa bloom is passion–

And of datura–death!

Sweet are thy ways and thy strange caresses,

That sear as flame, and exult as wine.

But I care only for that wild moment

When my soul arises and reaches thine.

Wistful voices of wild birds calling–

Far, faint lightning towards the West,–

Twinkling lights of a Tyah homestead,–

Ruddy glow on a girl’s bare breast–

Drifting boats on a mournful River,

Shifting thoughts in a dreaming mind,–

We two, seeking the Sea, together,–

When we reach it,–what shall we find?

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• Olney Hymn 48: Joy And Peace In Believing by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 47: The Hidden Life by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 45: The Happy Change by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 43: Prayer For Patience by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 40: Peace After A Storm by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 4: Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord My Banner by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 39: The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 38: Looking Upwards In A Storm by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 36: Afflictions Sanctified By The Word by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 34: The Waiting Soul by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 33: Seeking The Beloved by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 32: The Shining Light by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 31: On The Death Of A Minister by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 30: The Light And Glory Of The Word by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 3: Jehovah-Rophi: I Am the Lord That Healeth Thee by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 29: Exhortation To Prayer by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 28: Jesus Hasting To Suffer by William Cowper by William Cowper
• Olney Hymn 27: Welcome To The Table by William Cowper by William Cowper

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