 | Petition to the Deil |  |
93
THE CALL OF THE SEA.
1913.
The roaring of this inland wood
Sounds like the roaring sea;
And thoughts that will not be subdued,
Old thoughts, arise in me;
Sounds like the roaring sea;
And thoughts that will not be subdued,
Old thoughts, arise in me;
Dim thoughts, whate'er their source may be,
That deep in memory dwell—
Like moanings of its parent sea
Within the stranded shell;
That deep in memory dwell—
Like moanings of its parent sea
Within the stranded shell;
Ancestral thoughts! that bring to mind
The vast, vague Long Ago,
When rude forefathers of my kind
Wander'd by wick and voe.
The vast, vague Long Ago,
When rude forefathers of my kind
Wander'd by wick and voe.
Their dwelling was the weem or cave
In the dark pinewood hill;
Or, homeless, on the lifting wave
Their course was onward still.
In the dark pinewood hill;
Or, homeless, on the lifting wave
Their course was onward still.
94
Lifelong they wander'd, strove and fought,
Till death brought dark release;
Yet sometimes, vainly, may have thought
Or dreamt that heaven was peace.
Till death brought dark release;
Yet sometimes, vainly, may have thought
Or dreamt that heaven was peace.
Now that their heaven this new world shares
Of peaceful year on year,
I almost wish (true son of theirs!)
Ancestral times were here—
Of peaceful year on year,
I almost wish (true son of theirs!)
Ancestral times were here—
As, answering to the roaring wood
Its old call of the sea,
Ancestral echoes of the blood
Vainly arise in me!
Its old call of the sea,
Ancestral echoes of the blood
Vainly arise in me!
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