Christina Rossetti and the boat

I walked down by the lakeside and there was a wooden boat tied up, with its engine running. There was no one anywhere near. I sat and waited and into my mind came the child's poem by Christina Rossetti:

"Ferry me across the water,
Do, boatman, do."
"If you've a penny in your purse
I'll ferry you."

"I have a penny in my purse,
And my eyes are blue;
So ferry me across the water,
Do, boatman, do."

"Step into my ferry-boat,
Be they black or blue,
And for the penny in your purse
I'll ferry you."