 | Songs of the sea, with other poems |  |
25
III.
THE GALE.
The night came robed in terror. Through the airMountains of clouds, with lurid summits, rolled,—
The lightning kindling with its vivid glare
Their outlines, as they rose heaped fold on fold.
The wind, in fitful soughs, swept o'er the sea;
And then a sudden lull, serene as sleep,
Soft as an infant's breathing, seemed to be
Cast, like enchantment, on the throbbing deep.
But false the calm! for soon the strengthened gale
Burst in one loud explosion, far and wide,
Drowning the thunder's voice! With every sail
Close-reefed, our groaning ship heeled on her side;
The torn waves combed the deck; while, o'er the mast,
The meteors of the storm a ghastly radiance cast.
| Songs of the sea, with other poems | |