To Thomas Moore (My Boat Is on the Shore)
I.
My boat is on the shore,
And my bark is on the sea;
But before I go, Tom Moore,
Here’s a double health to thee!
II.
Here’s a sigh to those who love me,
And a smile to those who hate;
And, whatever sky’s above me,
Here’s a heart for every fate.
III.
Though the ocean roar around me,
Yet it still shall bear me on;
Though a desert should surround me,
It hath springs that may be won.
IV.
Were’t the last drop in the well,
As I gasp’d upon the brink,
Ere my fainting spirit fell
’Tis to thee that I would drink.
V.
With that water, as this wine,
The libation I would pour
Should be– peace with thine and mine,
And a health to thee, Tom Moore.
July 1817.
Other works by Lord Byron...
Windsor Poetics: Lines Composed on the Occasion of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent Being Seen Standing Between the Coffins of Henry Viii and Charles I, in the Royal Vault at Windsor
Famed for contemptuous breach of s… By headless Charles see heartless… Between them stands another sceptr… It moves, it reigns—in all but nam… Charles to his people, Henry to h…
