Page:Poems Welby.djvu/26

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TO A SEA-SHELL.
::Shell of the bright sea-waves!
What is it, that we hear in thy sad moan?
Is this unceasing music all thine own?
  Lute of the ocean-caves!

  Or does some spirit dwell
In the deep windings of thy chambers dim,
Breathing for ever, in its mournful hymn,
  Of ocean's anthem swell?

  Wert thou a murmurer long
In crystal palaces beneath the seas,
Ere from the blue sky thou hadst heard the breeze
  Pour its full tide of song?

  Another thing with thee—
Are there not gorgeous cities in the deep,
Buried with flashing gems that brightly sleep,
  Hid by the mighty sea?

  And say, O lone sea-shell!
Are there not costly things and sweet perfumes