51
But the deepest delight of those glad sum
mer hours
I never could utter nor write.
Where the sea on pebbly beaches
Murmurs endless tuneful speeches,
I wandered long and lone;
Feeling every strange emotion
Of the ever-changing ocean—
Learning every tone.
"Watching sunny surface flashes,
Foamy leaps and sportive dashes
Of the dancing waves;
Heedless in their careless gladness
Of their underlying sadness;
Forgetting they are graves.
Then again I heard the moaning,
And the sobbing and the groaning
Of the sea in pain;
Shrinking as the wind abused her,
Threatened, tortured and ill-used her,
Till the wounded main
Rose in furious indignation,
Shrieked in clamorous protestation,
Howled in maddened rage;
Scattered frightened sands around her,
Clutched the rocky cliffs that bound her,
Like lion in a cage.
