Amenophis and Other Poems Sacred and Secular | ||
187
XXIV
A HALCYON DAY IN SUMMER
Though thy song-tribute ne'er has fail'd, O Sea!
Since that Aeolian Master set thy soul
To music in his long hexameter roll,
One gift, in these changed years, I bring to thee:—
Since that Aeolian Master set thy soul
To music in his long hexameter roll,
One gift, in these changed years, I bring to thee:—
For thou to-day hast veil'd thy majesty
'Neath this smooth shining floor of purpled green,
Pattern'd with white waves o'er the gloom unseen
Where gray Leviathan circles fast and free:—
'Neath this smooth shining floor of purpled green,
Pattern'd with white waves o'er the gloom unseen
Where gray Leviathan circles fast and free:—
On such a day might Galataea fair
Flaunt her fleet dolphins o'er the buoyant plain,
While Zephyrs dipt and vaulted through the sky:
Flaunt her fleet dolphins o'er the buoyant plain,
While Zephyrs dipt and vaulted through the sky:
—Now one lone bird, wheeling, her hungry prayer
Screams forth, responsive to the low refrain
Of thy sweet, sad, eternal litany.
Screams forth, responsive to the low refrain
Of thy sweet, sad, eternal litany.
Lyme,September, 1888
Amenophis and Other Poems Sacred and Secular | ||