The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay With Illustrations by John Gilbert |
A CRY FROM THE DEEP WATERS. |
I. |
II. |
III. |
IV. |
V. |
VI. |
VII. |
VIII. |
IX. |
X. |
XI. |
XII. |
The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay | ||
82
A CRY FROM THE DEEP WATERS.
I
From the deep and troubled watersComes the cry;
Wild are the waves around me—
Dark the sky:
There is no hand to pluck me
From the sad death I die.
II
To one small plank, that fails me,Clinging low,
I am dash'd by angry billows
To and fro;
I hear death-anthems ringing
In all the winds that blow.
III
A cry of suffering gushesFrom my lips,
As I behold the distant
White-sail'd ships
O'er the dark waters gleaming
Where the horizon dips.
83
IV
They pass;—they are too loftyAnd remote,
They cannot see the spaces
Where I float.
The last hope dies within me,
With the gasping in my throat.
V
Through dim cloud-vistas looking,I can see
The new moon's crescent sailing
Pallidly:
And one star coldly shining
Upon my misery.
VI
There are no sounds in NatureBut my moan,
The shriek of the wild petrel
All alone,
And roar of waves exulting
To make my flesh their own.
VII
Billow with billow rages,Tempest-trod;
Strength fails me; coldness gathers
On this clod:
From the deep and troubled waters
I cry to Thee, my God!
The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay | ||