Page:Poems Larcom.djvu/36

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20
bittersweet shadows.
Then, the crystal channel won,
In its deep the shallop shone,
Sails of silver, prow of pearl:
Hidden ledges brake that dream,
Sucking down the flash and gleam
Underneath their high-tide swirl.

Free again, broad sunshine found,
Slid the boat on, greenly wound
With its veil of bittersweet,
Tangling round the sunk rock's edge,
Catching streamers of sea-sedge
From the sheen beneath our feet.

Anchored in the dusk, a spell
From the folds of twilight fell
On the bay's black, star-strewn floor.
Awe with that weird glitter crept
Shuddering through our thoughts; we stept
Gladly on firm land once more,

Trailing home the bittersweet.
Such dim ending was but meet
For an afternoon so rare.