 | Songs of the sea, with other poems |  |
60
A SUMMER NOON AT SEA.
A holy stillness, beautiful and deep,
Reigns in the air and broods upon the ocean;
The worn-out winds are quieted to sleep,
And not a wave is lifted into motion.
Reigns in the air and broods upon the ocean;
The worn-out winds are quieted to sleep,
And not a wave is lifted into motion.
The fleecy clouds hang on the soft blue sky,
Into fantastic shapes of brilliance moulded,
Pillowed on one another broad and high,
With the sun's dazzling tresses interfolded.
Into fantastic shapes of brilliance moulded,
Pillowed on one another broad and high,
With the sun's dazzling tresses interfolded.
The sea-bird skims along the glassy tide,
With sidelong flight and wing of glittering whiteness,
Or floats upon the sea, outstretching wide
A sheet of gold in the meridian brightness.
With sidelong flight and wing of glittering whiteness,
Or floats upon the sea, outstretching wide
A sheet of gold in the meridian brightness.
61
Our vessel lies, unstirred by wave or blast,
As she were moored to her dark shadow seeming,
Her pennon twined around the tapering mast,
And her loose sails like marble drapery gleaming.
As she were moored to her dark shadow seeming,
Her pennon twined around the tapering mast,
And her loose sails like marble drapery gleaming.
How, at an hour like this, the unruffled mind
Partakes the quiet that is shed around us!
As if the Power that chained the impatient wind
With the same fetter of repose had bound us!
Partakes the quiet that is shed around us!
As if the Power that chained the impatient wind
With the same fetter of repose had bound us!
| Songs of the sea, with other poems | |