Foam Phantom

I lighted a match, but its feeble flame Went out in a gust of the stormy squall, So I stepped in the lea of a fishing house And tried another. I heard a call.

The match lit quickly and brightly burned, Now where before had I seen that face? My world around me suddenly crashed. Who could ever forget such grace?

My heartbeats quickened at what I saw, She was standing flat against the wall; Around her face damp copper curls, Like a bas-relief in a foreign stall.

The matey hurried me into the night; I scarcely had time to make my ship. Was it dreamed or real? By the lantern gleam I saw a filmy kerchief dip.

What has changed me now they cannot tell, The crew who jostle and wonder and leer; They little know of a strong man's soul Filled with sedulous longing and fear.

For at night when on watch I pace the deck And the pungent, stinging wind blows cool, As I think of a wharf and a fishing shed I curse myself for a fool.