Land, ho!

I know 'tis but a loom of land,
Yet is it land, and so I will rejoice,
I know I cannot hear His voice
Upon the shore, nor see Him stand;
Yet is it land, ho! land.

The land! the land! the lovely land!
" Far off"' dost say? Far off- — ah, blessed home!
Farewell! farewell! thou salt sea-foam!
Ah, keel upon the silver sand —
Land, ho! land.

You cannot see the land, my land,
You cannot see, and yet the land is there —
My land, my land, through murky air —
I did not say 'twas close at hand —
But — land, ho! land.

Dost hear the bells of my sweet land,
Dost hear the kine, dost hear the merry birds?
No voice, 'tis true, no spoken words,
No tongue that thou may'st understand —
Yet is it land, ho! land.

It's clad in purple mist, my land,
In regal robe it is apparelled,
A crown is set upon its head,
And on its breast a golden band —
Land, ho! land.

Dost wonder that I long for land?
My land is not a land as others are —
Upon its crest there beams a star,
And lilies grow upon the strand —
Land, ho! land.

Give me the helm! there is the land!
Ha! lusty mariners, she takes the breeze!
And what my spirit sees it sees —
Leap, bark, as leaps the thunderbrand —
Land, ho! land.