 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
Ocean's Treasures
I walked on the ocean beach,
I saw a beautiful shell;
But 'twas carried beyond my reach,
As the billows rose and fell.
I saw a beautiful shell;
But 'twas carried beyond my reach,
As the billows rose and fell.
A sun-fish I sought to take,
But the waves rolled strong and high,
And bade me the prize forsake,
And back from the breakers fly.
But the waves rolled strong and high,
And bade me the prize forsake,
And back from the breakers fly.
Then a pebble, round and white,
I sought of the ocean to steal;
But the wave returned, and, far from sight,
Did the stone in its bosom conceal.
I sought of the ocean to steal;
But the wave returned, and, far from sight,
Did the stone in its bosom conceal.
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'Twas as if it loved its own,
The ocean so vast and drear;
The shell and fish and round white stone
To its mighty heart were dear.
The ocean so vast and drear;
The shell and fish and round white stone
To its mighty heart were dear.
And a stranger sought to bear
Its treasures far, far away;
Where no more they'd shine forever fair,
And bright with the dashing spray.
Its treasures far, far away;
Where no more they'd shine forever fair,
And bright with the dashing spray.
Poem No. 281; c. 21 August 1868
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |