 | The Poetry of Real Life |  |
ON SEEING A FINE MERCHANT-VESSEL COMING OUT OF PORT.
Like a sea-bird she sits upon the sea:And now unto the wind she opens out
Her white wings, wearing gracefully about,
As if she held the elements in fee:
And, stretching forward on her mission, she
Leans after it, as 't were, as if in doubt
Awhile which way to take; then, with a stout
Resolve, she seeks the main, with motion free
And high-magestical—about her play
The ministering winds, the waves make way,
As for some creature of the element,
And Ocean flings upon her brows his spray,
Baptizing her to full accomplishment
Of the great quests of Peace, on which she's sent!
| The Poetry of Real Life | |