 | Sonnets Round the Coast |  |
184
XXII. SERVICE IN THE OLD PARISH CHURCH, WHITBY.
We climbed the steep where headless Edwin lies—The king who struck for Christ, and striking fell;
Beyond the harbour, tolled the beacon bell
Saint Mary's peal sent down her glad replies;
So entered we the Church: white galleries,
Cross-stanchions, frequent stairs, dissembled well
A ship's mid-hold,—we almost felt the swell
Beneath, and caught o'erhead the sailors' cries.
But as we heard the congregational sound,
And reasonable voice of common prayer
And common praise, new wind was in our sails—
Heart called to heart, beyond the horizon's bound
With Christ we steered, through angel-haunted air,
A ship that meets all storms rides out all gales.
| Sonnets Round the Coast | |