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Farewell on Loch Tay by Lelia Thomas

Come you now out upon Loch Tay
Beneath the glow of the moon,
To be touched by wintry water spray,
For away I must sail soon.

I dread to leave you here, dearest Claire,
But you know I must sail the sea;
So do not cry upon your face so fair,
For I canna stay with thee.

“I’ll ne’er marry another,” you say,
“And Sevenscore years, for thee I’ll wait,
“And bide my time at the side of Loch Tay—
My prayers for thee and thine good Fate.”

Among oak and ash and ivy vine,
‘Tween morn and night, life and death,
Bind thine smaller hand to mine,
And on my lips breathe a final breath.

The morn shall come to steal me away,
And on the sea, my soul may set adrift,
But ne’er shall my heart go astray;
Yet entertain this memory, I may
Of the night I said farewell upon Loch Tay.
Beannachd leibh.*

^{* “Farewell” in Scottish Gaelic.}

Details

Written in 2005. This piece was in the form of an average Romantic Era tragedy.