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Sonnets Round the Coast

by H. D. Rawnsley
  

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XV. THE PREACHER'S SEASIDE LESSON.
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XV. THE PREACHER'S SEASIDE LESSON.

Thou art the prophets' tutor; day by day,
Thy voice, wind-driven, sounds along the beach,
Whether it hear or hearken not. Thy speech
Is true, for everlasting: thou dost say
Things brought from depths and distance far away;
And, lest thy rhythmic utterance fail to reach
Deaf ears, successive sentences shall preach,
Line upon line, rolled inward to the bay.
Judgment and death may be thy parable,
But life and light spring ever from thy grave,
And worship;—rapturous clapping of thy hands
In praise of Him who painted every shell,
Who called leviathan to ride the wave,
And laid thy limit on the fearless sands.