Daylight's twinkling eye now firmly shuts br And busy bird's nestmaking labours still. br Now all the land takes diff'rent hues of night br And hungry owl-call tones are heard to shrill; br Then, out across the lonely darkness, faint..... br At first, then louder, roaring wild..... br I hear the sea, a-calling me to play! br Like holidays, when I was just a child br And, musing in my middle years, I smile br For, now I live where holidays were spent br And take for granted gifts of sea and sun and air br Which, as a child for just two weeks were lent... br And, in that moment, listening to the night, br A voice within me now begins to sing br A song of thanks for riches fair as these br That gold and silver riches cannot bring.