We were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable—
But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,
We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon;
And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.
We were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere;
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.
We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed “Good morrow, mother!” to a shawl-covered head,
And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;
And she wept, “God bless you!” for the apples and pears,
And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.
I like this poem a lot. Is it the repetition or easy vocabulary? The sing-songy rhyme scheme? No. I like this poem because it reminds me of my best friend. This couple goes back and forth all night on a ferry. What is significant about a ferry? Nothing. Yeah, ferries can be fun, but what makes you decide to take a ferry all night on a Saturday night? What makes you decide to do absolutely nothing? And what makes doing absolutely nothing so fun?
What makes absolutely nothing so fun is doing absolutely nothing with someone whose presence itself is enough. I feel that way with my best friend. The days I do absolutely nothing all day with my best friend are some of the most enjoyable days I've experienced. We spent our last night together before he left for college (1300 miles away) sitting on the couch, playing on his laptop. Yet I didn't regret it. I didn't wish we could have some spectacular adventure I'd remember forever. Nothing mattered but being there with my best friend in the entire world for the last time.
Having a friendship like that is epitomized in this poem. And it makes me happy and peaceful. Because it doesn't matter what you do. Their presence is enough.
