Ipswich
Eugene Field (1850-1895)
In Ipswich nights are cool and fair,
And the voice that comes from the yonder sea
Sings to the quaint old mansions there
Of "the time, the time that used to be;"
And the quaint old mansions rock and groan,
And they seem to say in an undertone,
With half a sigh and with half a moan:
"It was, but it never again will be."
In Ipswich witches weave at night
Their magic spells with impish glee;
They shriek and laugh in their demon flight
From the old Main House to the frightened sea.
And ghosts of old come out to weep
Over the town that is fast asleep;
And they sob and they wail, so on they creep;
"It was, but it never again will be."
From "Second Book of Verse" by Eugene Field, C. Scribner's Sons, New York, 1908, P. 270