Meanwhile untroubled I admire [4]
  The pointed horns of my canoe;
  And, did not pity touch my breast,
  To see how ye are all distrest,
  Till my ribs ached, I’d laugh at you! 20

  Away we go, my Boat and I—­
  Frail man ne’er sate in such another;
  Whether among the winds we strive,
  Or deep into the clouds [5] we dive,
  Each is contented with the other. 25

  Away we go—­and what care we
  For treasons, tumults, and for wars? 
  We are as calm in our delight
  As is the crescent-moon so bright
  Among the scattered stars. 30

  Up goes my Boat among [6] the stars
  Through many a breathless field of light,
  Through many a long blue field of ether,
  Leaving ten thousand stars beneath her: 
  Up goes my little Boat so bright! 35

  The Crab, the Scorpion, and the Bull—­
  We pry among them all; have shot
  High o’er the red-haired race of Mars,
  Covered from top to toe with scars;
  Such company I like it not! 40

  The towns in Saturn are decayed,
  And melancholy Spectres throng them;—­[7]
  The Pleiads, that appear to kiss
  Each other in the vast abyss,
  With joy I sail among [8] them, 45

  Swift Mercury resounds with mirth,
  Great Jove is full of stately bowers;
  But these, and all that they contain,
  What are they to that tiny grain,
  That little Earth [9] of ours? 50

  Then back to Earth, the dear green Earth:—­
  Whole ages if I here should roam,
  The world for my remarks and me
  Would not a whit the better be;
  I’ve left my heart at home. 55

  See! there she is, [10] the matchless Earth! 
  There spreads the famed Pacific Ocean! 
  Old Andes thrusts yon craggy spear
  Through the grey clouds; the Alps are here,
  Like waters in commotion! 60

  Yon tawny slip is Libya’s sands
  That silver thread the river Dnieper;
  And look, where clothed in brightest green
  Is a sweet Isle, of isles the Queen;
  Ye fairies, from all evil keep her! 65

  And see the town where I was born! 
  Around those happy fields we span
  In boyish gambols;—­I was lost
  Where I have been, but on this coast
  I feel I am a man. 70

  Never did fifty things at once
  Appear so lovely, never, never;—­
  How tunefully the forests ring! 
  To hear the earth’s soft murmuring
  Thus could I hang for ever! 75

  “Shame on you!” cried my little Boat,
  “Was ever such a homesick [11] Loon,
  Within a living Boat to sit,
  And make no better use of it;
  A Boat twin-sister of the crescent-moon! 80