William Brighty Rands

The Ship That Sailed into the Sun

They said my brother's ship went down,
            Down into the sea,
Because a storm came on to drown
            The biggest ships that be;

But I saw the ship, when he went away
            I saw it pass and pass.
The tide was low; I went out to play;
            The sea was all like glass.

The ship sailed straight into the sun,
            Half of a ball of gold.
Onward it went till it touched the sun,
            I saw the ship take hold!

But soon I saw them both no more,
            The sun and the ship together,
            For the wind began to hoot and to roar,
And there was stormy weather.

Yet every day the golden ball
            Rests on the edge of the sky;
The sun it is, with the ship and all,
            For the ship sailed into the golden ball
Across the edge of the sky.