 | Sonnets Round the Coast |  |
185
XXIII. DROWNED BY THE UPSETTING OF THE LIFE-BOAT, OCTOBER 6, 1841.
A HERO'S GRAVE IN WHITBY CHURCHYARD.
Rest, master mariner, rest till sealess doom:Beyond all harbour-stir upon this steep.
Though murderous winds obliterating sweep.
Thy deed shall keep a name upon thy tomb!
Child of the ocean, to its darkened womb
Who so return, regenerate, shall reap
Immortal glory. Waking tho' they sleep
Their deaths flash life across the desperate gloom.
For what are men, if, when the storms are strong
And harbours stretch their yellow arms in vain,
They go not forth to succour? Wearied sore,
Still must they rake the jaws of hell once more:
And if they die, they know their deeds remain;
And if they live, it cannot be for long.
| Sonnets Round the Coast | |