Life, 1915-09-09 · page 8 of 44
Life — September 9, 1915 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains a poem titled "Bahaman Love-Song" by Richard Le Gallienne, accompanied by decorative illustrations rather than political satire or cartooning. The artwork depicts tropical/oceanic scenes: a swimmer diving into water in the upper illustration, and seashells and starfish in the left margin decoration. These are romantic, aesthetic illustrations complementing the poem's theme of tropical island romance and passion. The poem itself is romantic verse celebrating love in a Bahaman paradise setting, with imagery of coral caves, dolphins, and island life. There is no political commentary, satire, or social criticism evident on this page—it is purely literary and decorative content typical of *Life*'s cultural magazine format during this period.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Bahaman Love-Song 'HE morning, like a river, runs With feet of music through the palms. Come! match your glory with the sun’s, And breathe with me a thousand balms; The dawn is like an azure door Flung open wide for us to flee, . And watch along the surf-ringed shore The heaving jewel of the sea. And we will find some coral cave, Where you shall doff your linen fair, By the foam-tipped up-running wave, And free the marvel of your hair; And match your whiteness with the spray, And match your strange eyes with the sea, And, like a Nereid, you shall sway, * Cradled in lapis lazuli. Then turn, and, like a dolphin, glide Through hollow halls of glimmering jade, Where solemn gleaming fish abide For ever in a twilight glade; And I shall watch you sink and pass, Then dive, and midway we shall meet, Two dreams within a magic glass, And join dim lips, with sca-salt sweet. Then shall we hoist a snowy sail, And, in a boat with crystal floor, Gaze down on shapes in rainbow mail, Starfish, and branching madrepore, And peacock fans and fairy flowers That in a mystic garden dream Of moon-white sands and coral bowers, Tranced deep in the pellucid stream, There might I dwell as in your eyes, And never to the world return; But lo! another Paradise, Of beckoning palms and tropic fern— Yon island ringed with sun-kissed foam! Oh, let us there our boat careen, And I will build our hidden home, And you shall be the island queen. And I will serve you, morn and eve, Of golden fruits shall be our fare, And garlands for your body weave, And dive for pearls to deck your hair; And love shall be the island laws, Love all its business, all its play; The world and all its silly saws A foolish legend far away. Richard Le Gallienne. comicbooks.com