 | The poetical works of Henry Alford |  |
III.
I saw the sea again:
But it was now once more
The great unbounded ocean,
But not mirror-calm,
Nor in wavelets broken:
It was in tumult dire
Of angry tossing billows,
Like unquiet monsters
Rolling in their agony
Over their watery couch.
But it was now once more
The great unbounded ocean,
But not mirror-calm,
Nor in wavelets broken:
It was in tumult dire
123
Like unquiet monsters
Rolling in their agony
Over their watery couch.
And ere I long had looked,
Again appeared that form,
Now stronger knit, and grown
Even to years mature.
His strength had trial sore;
For in that plunge of waters
A little boat he guided,
Rowing with all his power,
And guiding while he rowed.
Loud creaked his burdened barque
Not long: a crested billow
Fell headlong, and the vessel
Was seen no more; but him
I saw with vigorous stroke
Mounting the valley-sides
Between the towering waves.
Again appeared that form,
Now stronger knit, and grown
Even to years mature.
His strength had trial sore;
For in that plunge of waters
A little boat he guided,
Rowing with all his power,
And guiding while he rowed.
Loud creaked his burdened barque
Not long: a crested billow
Fell headlong, and the vessel
Was seen no more; but him
I saw with vigorous stroke
Mounting the valley-sides
Between the towering waves.
| The poetical works of Henry Alford | |