If after rude and boisterous seas
My wearied pinnace here finds ease;
If so it be I've gain'd the shore,
With safety of a faithful oar;
If having run my barque on ground,
Ye see the aged vessel crown'd;
What's to be done? but on the sands
Ye dance and sing, and now clap hands.
--The first act's doubtful, but (we say)
It is the last commends the Play.
More verses by Robert Herrick
- Nothing Free-Cost
- Safety On The Shore
- Upon The Detracter
- The Bleeding Hand; Or The Sprig Of Eglantine Given To A Maid
- Man's Dying-Place Uncertain