 | Hymns and Poems |  |
XXVI. THE SEASIDE.
When in the sweet childhood that's gone
I stood by the side of the main,
At every new wave that roll'd on,
I wonder'd again and again.
I stood by the side of the main,
At every new wave that roll'd on,
I wonder'd again and again.
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As I gather'd the shells on its shore,
As I gazed on the vessels at sea,
The mystery grew more and more,
And would not interpreted be.
As I gazed on the vessels at sea,
The mystery grew more and more,
And would not interpreted be.
O dream which my childhood beguiled,
How truthful an emblem wert thou!—
As I thought of the sea when a child,
So I think of eternity now.
How truthful an emblem wert thou!—
As I thought of the sea when a child,
So I think of eternity now.
I stand by the side of its sea:
I gather the shells on its shore;
But its depths are mysterious to me
As the depths of the ocean of yore.
I gather the shells on its shore;
But its depths are mysterious to me
As the depths of the ocean of yore.
Every hour that rolls on its way
Brings enigmas which reason transcend;
And the best of all homage to pay,
Is to wonder on still to the end.
Brings enigmas which reason transcend;
And the best of all homage to pay,
Is to wonder on still to the end.
Then from the sea its depths shall go fleeing;
All bare shall eternity be;
And they who now wonder, not seeing,
Shall wonder the more when they see!
All bare shall eternity be;
And they who now wonder, not seeing,
Shall wonder the more when they see!
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