 | The heavenly guest with other unpublished writings |  |
20
THE FOG BELL
In the thick mist that shrouded land and sea,
I heard the warning fog-bell tolling slow,
And its dull clangor only seemed to me
A deeper gloom across the world to throw.
I heard the warning fog-bell tolling slow,
And its dull clangor only seemed to me
A deeper gloom across the world to throw.
Most like a signal of despair and dread,
With vague uneasiness it filled the air,
Its harsh voice like a dirge rung for the dead,
Seemed heavy with a weight of woe and care.
With vague uneasiness it filled the air,
Its harsh voice like a dirge rung for the dead,
Seemed heavy with a weight of woe and care.
“Ah, cease thy weary jar, discordant bell,”
I prayed in silence, “vex my ear no more!”
And as I prayed, a hollow murmur fell
Upon my sense from the wave-beaten shore.
I prayed in silence, “vex my ear no more!”
And as I prayed, a hollow murmur fell
Upon my sense from the wave-beaten shore.
The roar of breakers! And I grew aware
That it was life and hope, not death that spoke,
No sullen booming tidings of despair,
But help and cheer the dangerous silence broke.
That it was life and hope, not death that spoke,
No sullen booming tidings of despair,
But help and cheer the dangerous silence broke.
“Turn, turn your prows and seek the open sea!”
To wandering ships incessantly it cried,
“Here lurks the cruel ledge to wreck you! Flee
While yet you may, across the waters wide.”
To wandering ships incessantly it cried,
“Here lurks the cruel ledge to wreck you! Flee
While yet you may, across the waters wide.”
'Tis like the voice of Age, I thought, which speaks
To careless Youth that dares life's leaping wave,
Till tempest-tossed and mocked by mists, he seeks
The knowledge that alone shall guide and save.
To careless Youth that dares life's leaping wave,
Till tempest-tossed and mocked by mists, he seeks
The knowledge that alone shall guide and save.
| The heavenly guest with other unpublished writings | |