 | Poems |  |
448
BY THE SEA.
Thou myriad-billow'd, restless Sea,
Thou awe and terror of the lands
That match not thy immensity,
Blue trampler of their thousand strands,
With endless life—eternal power
Thou mock'st us mortal things of breath;
Ages to thee but as an hour,
Thou know'st not time, or change, or death!
Thou awe and terror of the lands
That match not thy immensity,
Blue trampler of their thousand strands,
With endless life—eternal power
Thou mock'st us mortal things of breath;
Ages to thee but as an hour,
Thou know'st not time, or change, or death!
Thy fellows are the eternal air,
The might of storms—the stars—the night,
The winds thy wastes of waves that tear,
The sun, and the great joy of light.
These share thy life; these, but the nod
Of Him thou tremblest at, obey;
These tell with thee the power of God;
His ministers, with thee, are they.
The might of storms—the stars—the night,
The winds thy wastes of waves that tear,
The sun, and the great joy of light.
These share thy life; these, but the nod
Of Him thou tremblest at, obey;
These tell with thee the power of God;
His ministers, with thee, are they.
Awful art thou when thou dost lie,
Sun-tawny, crouch'd upon thy sands,
Breathing the stillness of the sky,
Fawnign upon the trembling lands;
Then, from thy couchant vastness, man
Such dumb and wondering terror drinks,
As through Thebes, hush'd and ashen, ran,
Gazing upon the breathing Sphinx.
Sun-tawny, crouch'd upon thy sands,
Breathing the stillness of the sky,
Fawnign upon the trembling lands;
Then, from thy couchant vastness, man
Such dumb and wondering terror drinks,
As through Thebes, hush'd and ashen, ran,
Gazing upon the breathing Sphinx.
But when, beneath the awful skies,
Storm-darken'd, in thy chainless might,
White with wild wrath, thou dost arise,
How are men scatter'd in thy sight!
Then woe to those, the things of breath,
Mortals by whom thy depths are trod;
Thou giv'st them and their vaunts to death;
They know thee for the scourge of God.
Storm-darken'd, in thy chainless might,
White with wild wrath, thou dost arise,
How are men scatter'd in thy sight!
Then woe to those, the things of breath,
Mortals by whom thy depths are trod;
Thou giv'st them and their vaunts to death;
They know thee for the scourge of God.
Dust of the dust, we come—we pass,
But fleeting shadows, of time born,
By time devour'd, shades thou dost glass
In thy eternity—thy scorn.
Earth changes; ages are not; thou
Wert, art, and still shalt be the same,
Vast, boundless, changeless, endless now
As when light first upon thee came.
But fleeting shadows, of time born,
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In thy eternity—thy scorn.
Earth changes; ages are not; thou
Wert, art, and still shalt be the same,
Vast, boundless, changeless, endless now
As when light first upon thee came.
And still, as when through brooding night
The first grey sunrise heard thee raise.
Thy thunderous hymn, through gloom, through light,
On high goes up thy voice of praise.
Thou symbol of thy Maker's power,
Thou giv'st to man's eyes, faint and dim,
His might—His majesty; each hour,
In calm, in storm, thou speak'st of Him.
The first grey sunrise heard thee raise.
Thy thunderous hymn, through gloom, through light,
On high goes up thy voice of praise.
Thou symbol of thy Maker's power,
Thou giv'st to man's eyes, faint and dim,
His might—His majesty; each hour,
In calm, in storm, thou speak'st of Him.
Strength is in thy salt breath, O Sea,
Empire and knowledge—wealth and sway;
The might—the glory born of thee,
The dull and shoreless lands obey;
Those whom the decks thou tossest throne,
These are to kingship crown'd by thee,
Heirs of the rule thou mak'st their own,
Theirs who dare home with thee, O Sea!
Empire and knowledge—wealth and sway;
The might—the glory born of thee,
The dull and shoreless lands obey;
Those whom the decks thou tossest throne,
These are to kingship crown'd by thee,
Heirs of the rule thou mak'st their own,
Theirs who dare home with thee, O Sea!
Chainless thou art; thy shores are free;
Earth breathes in sternness with thy breath;
Chainless resolves are born of thee,
High thoughts and proud strong scorn of death;
Who face thy wrath, nor fear, have lost
The dread of aught that earth has borne;
They who, on thy wild billows tost,
Pale not, man's terrors well may scorn.
Earth breathes in sternness with thy breath;
Chainless resolves are born of thee,
High thoughts and proud strong scorn of death;
Who face thy wrath, nor fear, have lost
The dread of aught that earth has borne;
They who, on thy wild billows tost,
Pale not, man's terrors well may scorn.
World-girdler, how the earth's great hearts
Their awful greatness win from thee!
Lo! to what height their stature starts,
They who have been thy brood, O Sea!
Thy might into their souls has grown;
Thy vastness awes us in their names;
They are thy mighty ones—thine own,
With all thy grandeur in their fames.
Their awful greatness win from thee!
Lo! to what height their stature starts,
They who have been thy brood, O Sea!
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Thy vastness awes us in their names;
They are thy mighty ones—thine own,
With all thy grandeur in their fames.
What are the glories earth has given
Unto her greatest, told with those
For which thy mighty ones have striven,
Those which thy mighty love bestows?
Columbus—Nelson—these, thine own,
Hast thou not given their fames to be
Mightiest where'er thy might is known,
Sharers of thy eternity!
Unto her greatest, told with those
For which thy mighty ones have striven,
Those which thy mighty love bestows?
Columbus—Nelson—these, thine own,
Hast thou not given their fames to be
Mightiest where'er thy might is known,
Sharers of thy eternity!
We are the playmates of thy waves,
Rock'd into greatness on thy breast;
Thou giv'st us all things—riches, graves,
Conquests, and all thy wild unrest.
We feel thy salt spray in our veins,
Thy tameless spirit in our souls;
Through the free thoughts of our free brains,
Through our free speech thy thunder rolls.
Rock'd into greatness on thy breast;
Thou giv'st us all things—riches, graves,
Conquests, and all thy wild unrest.
We feel thy salt spray in our veins,
Thy tameless spirit in our souls;
Through the free thoughts of our free brains,
Through our free speech thy thunder rolls.
Yet thou art death's; thou, too, shalt be
Its prey, with earth and time, at last.
We die to live; the heavens shall see
Thy end; thou too shalt join the past.
Greater, O Sea, are we than thou:
I, when thy mighty life is o'er,
I, deathless, then shall be as now,
Immortal, when thou art no more.
Its prey, with earth and time, at last.
We die to live; the heavens shall see
Thy end; thou too shalt join the past.
Greater, O Sea, are we than thou:
I, when thy mighty life is o'er,
I, deathless, then shall be as now,
Immortal, when thou art no more.
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