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Rh Just as you stand and lean on the rail, yet hurry with
 * the swift current, I stood, yet was hurried,

Just as you look on the numberless masts of ships,
 * and the thick-stemmed pipes of steamboats, I
 * looked.

I too many and many a time crossed the river, the
 * sun half an hour high,

I watched the Twelfth Month sea-gulls—I saw them
 * high in the air, floating with motionless wings,
 * oscillating their bodies,

I saw how the glistening yellow lit up parts of their
 * bodies, and left the rest in strong shadow,

I saw the slow-wheeling circles, and the gradual
 * edging toward the south.

I too saw the reflection of the summer sky in the
 * water,

Had my eyes dazzled by the shimmering track of
 * beams,

Looked at the fine centrifugal spokes of light round
 * the shape of my head in the sun-lit water,

Looked on the haze on the hills southward and south-westward, Looked on the vapor as it flew in fleeces tinged with
 * violet,

Looked toward the lower bay to notice the arriving
 * ships,

Saw their approach, saw aboard those that were near
 * me,

Saw the white sails of schooners and sloops, saw the
 * ships at anchor,

The sailors at work in the rigging, or out astride the
 * spars,