When seated in my easy chair I often travel far To distant lands across the seas, My compass is a star. 'Tis quicker and much easier Than any other way To go and come to suit desire, While here at home I stay. 'Tis only for the traveler Whose eyes those lands have seen That memory waves the magic wand That doth restore the scene. The charm of travel doth return Again to me in dreams, In foreign lands I wander far— Like radio it seems. And when I cross Pacific seas, Soft voices call to me, And mermaids lure me from my course To visit Hawaii. Sweet music permeates the air, I hear the steel guitars, My senses sway 'neath perfume rare That comes from fairest flowers. And as I pass old Diamondhead, Cares sink within the sea— A month, a week, seem but a day When spent at Waikiki, On the lania at Moana Beneath the Banyan tree, At the new Royal Hawaiian In kingly luxury. Within the charm of song and flowers— Forever I could stay, But the lure of other voices Doth urge me on my way. While leis drop around my neck Beneath Aloha's spell— Sweet words, "Until we meet again"— With tears we say farewell. Once more the surf doth boom for me On reefs at Tahiti As we sail through the coral gap That leads to gayety: The Paris of the Southern Seas Awaits with open arms To give the weary traveler A wealth of love that charms. I visit the Samoan Isles, I could not pass them by, I climb unto the mountain top Where Stevenson doth lie; From Apia I sail away To Suva at Fiji, And here I leave you for tonight, Lost in the Southern Sea. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE ORPHAN BOY'S TALE by AMELIA OPIE DEWEY IN MANILA BAY [MAY 1, 1898] by RICHARD VORHEES RISLEY SONGS by RICHARD HENRY STODDARD REVELATION by ROBERT PENN WARREN HUMAN IGNORANCE by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH MY SHIP by ELIZABETH AKERS ALLEN |