The Poetical Works of George Barlow In Ten [Eleven] Volumes |
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| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
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| II. |
| III. |
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| II. | II. |
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 | The Poetical Works of George Barlow |  |
II.
When first God made me, he
Set peace upon the sea.
My waters all were calm,
Like windless isles of palm.
Set peace upon the sea.
My waters all were calm,
Like windless isles of palm.
But soon my strength arose;
I sprang up from repose:
And now two giants fight—
God, and the ocean's might.
I sprang up from repose:
And now two giants fight—
God, and the ocean's might.
Daily I gain more strength:
It may be I at length
Shall overwhelm and merge
The whole earth in my surge.
It may be I at length
Shall overwhelm and merge
The whole earth in my surge.
211
God's angels shall despair
When the tornadoes bear
My angels, through the night
Glittering,—my sea-birds white:
When the tornadoes bear
My angels, through the night
Glittering,—my sea-birds white:
Above the dying ship
Fast in the black rock's grip
They hover, and they shine,
These angel-hosts of mine.
Fast in the black rock's grip
They hover, and they shine,
These angel-hosts of mine.
Lo! at my mad waves' shriek
Blenches the sailor's cheek.—
To-night is dark. The shore
Will never see him more.
Blenches the sailor's cheek.—
To-night is dark. The shore
Will never see him more.
His wife may wake and pray,
And watch the waste of spray:
I thunder to her prayer
One answering word—“Despair.”
And watch the waste of spray:
I thunder to her prayer
One answering word—“Despair.”
| The Poetical Works of George Barlow | |