Page:The Seaside and the Fireside.djvu/39

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The Building of the Ship.
17
From the bowl of his pipe would awhile illumeThe silent group in the twilight gloom,And thoughtful faces, as in a dream;And for a moment one might markWhat had been hidden by the dark,That the head of the maiden lay at rest,Tenderly, on the young man's breast!
Day by day the vessel grew,With timbers fashioned strong and true,Stemson and keelson and sternson-knee,Till, framed with perfect symmetry,A skeleton ship rose up to view!And around the bows and along the sideThe heavy hammers and mallets plied,Till after many a week, at length,Wonderful for form and strength,Sublime in its enormous bulk,Loomed aloft the shadowy hulk!
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