Thy frowning cliffs— majestic, wild,
Which I have climbed when but a child,
Where fairies danced in days of yore,
And mermaids sang upon the shore;
The shady glens and gloomy caves,
Lashed by the surges of the waves,
Are left behind and lost to me,
But yet my heart still clings to thee!
In thee my fancy lingers still,
And climbs thy steep and rugged hill,
And seems to heave the painful sighs
Drawn from my heart by beauty's eyes,
And sips the soft ambrosial dew,
From lips of sparkling coral hue,
My Island home, though far from me,
In memory I dwell in thee.
In midnight dreams I rove along,
To hear the mermaid's fabled song;
And view the fairies take their flight
Beneath the moon's pale, silver light,
O'er heather bells of purpled blue,
And valleys laid in mist and dew:
Those charms by day no more I see,
Yet slumber brings them back to me.
In dreams I see the sunny smile
That bung upon her rosy lips.
And thus transported in her arms.
Revive anew love's youthful charms.
And happy moments ones enjoyed
Where sweet Castruan's waters glide,
In vision still so let me roam,
To see my childhood's happy home.
Where light spring flowers sweetly bloom,
And west winds carry their perfume,
Though ruin's mantle now is spread
Above the graves of loved ones dead,
My heart is twined around the spot,
My little native village cot,
Wherever I wander, wherever I be,
My fond heart lingers still in thee.
