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By The Way

Verses, Fragments, and Notes [by William Allingham]

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And from a northern coast the Lovers watch'd
Midsummer sunset crimsoning the sea,
A bath of colours 'twixt the sky and sand
From east to furthest west. The ripple broke
Like azure flame along the level shore,
And every dimple, every ridge that nets
The glassy film was variably dyed
With floating brilliance of prismatic hues,
Green, orange, golden, exquisitely gay,
Like delicate music. Ever in the north
The dusking splendour crept behind the hills
Eastwards, and one cloud waited for the Dawn
To drink its fill of glory. To the beach,
Meanwhile, ran wave on wave in lovely sport,
Whispering a message to the dewy fields
Far-spread and hush'd beneath a dark-blue dome.