BLEAK IS THE PAMPA

This ballad alludes to the mythical island of Hy Brasil, "in search of a phantom in lands far away." This song may first appear dreary, but in the end it turns sublime, where our migrant author looks to the sky and proclaims "heart's that look upward from hope cannot sever, for theirs is the goal where all is divine."

Oh! bleak is the pampa when deserted and forlorn
O'er its thorn bosom the wanderer goes, 
When the smiles he late loved as the sun beams of morn
Are the shadows that deepen the depth of his woes.

Oh! had he ne'er quitted his own island dwelling,
In search of a phantom in lands far away,
He'd ne'er have to grieve at his own bitter telling,
He exchanged the truest for the friends of a day.

Such is life's onward course varying ever, 
Though today's sun be clouded tomorrow’s shall shine;
And hearts that look upward from hope cannot sever,
For theirs is the goal at which all is divine.

Anon.
 
El Monitor de La Campaña N° 88, 16th of February, 1873.