 | Songs of the sea, with other poems |  |
47
THE HURRICANE'S AMBUSCADE.
Look upon those clouds that lie
Pillowed on the light blue sky,
So translucent and serene,
That they hardly dim its sheen:
Look upon the glittering deep,
Which the fiery sunbeams steep,
Scattering on its purple floor
Amethysts and golden ore!
Pillowed on the light blue sky,
So translucent and serene,
That they hardly dim its sheen:
Look upon the glittering deep,
Which the fiery sunbeams steep,
Scattering on its purple floor
Amethysts and golden ore!
Yet the Spirit of the storm
Masks his elemental form
Under this celestial smile,
Nature putteth on the while;
And the day shall not be ended,
Ere, with all his hosts attended,
We shall see the Hurricane
Ride upon this billowy plain.
Masks his elemental form
Under this celestial smile,
Nature putteth on the while;
48
Ere, with all his hosts attended,
We shall see the Hurricane
Ride upon this billowy plain.
Heralds of his coming swift,
O'er us blackest clouds shall drift;
And each foaming wave below
Seem a pall half-merged in snow;
Then the loosened gale shall break,
Scooping mountains for his wake,
And, with island-shaking roar,
Drive whole argosies ashore.
O'er us blackest clouds shall drift;
And each foaming wave below
Seem a pall half-merged in snow;
Then the loosened gale shall break,
Scooping mountains for his wake,
And, with island-shaking roar,
Drive whole argosies ashore.
But we'll put our ship in trim,
And await this tempest grim,
Trusting not those tints of rose,
Lured not by this smooth repose:
Then, if comes the ambushed gale,
And his vassal waves prevail,
Foundered, wrecked, or tempest-driven,
Still we shall have nobly striven.
And await this tempest grim,
Trusting not those tints of rose,
Lured not by this smooth repose:
Then, if comes the ambushed gale,
And his vassal waves prevail,
Foundered, wrecked, or tempest-driven,
Still we shall have nobly striven.
49
Ah! thou voyager, afloat
On life's sea, in painted boat,
Crystal skies above thee bend,
On thee prosperous airs attend;
But, when fortune seems securest,
Then of stealthy change be surest;
And, with spirit bold and steady,
For the sudden storm be ready.
On life's sea, in painted boat,
Crystal skies above thee bend,
On thee prosperous airs attend;
But, when fortune seems securest,
Then of stealthy change be surest;
And, with spirit bold and steady,
For the sudden storm be ready.
From the earth those vapors mount,
And its moisture is their fount;
But above them, ever clear,
Shines the starry hemisphere:
This world's sorrows, this world's sighs,
Weave the clouds o'er life that rise;
But, eternally above,
Gleams the perfect light of love.
And its moisture is their fount;
But above them, ever clear,
Shines the starry hemisphere:
This world's sorrows, this world's sighs,
Weave the clouds o'er life that rise;
But, eternally above,
Gleams the perfect light of love.
| Songs of the sea, with other poems | |