Poems (Acton)/The Song of the Waves

THE SONG OF THE WAVES. ——

 When the sky is drear as night,
  And the winds with fury roar,
 We come in our giant might
  To lash the trembling shore.
Ha! ha! we come from an ocean home,
 With our snow-white crests of glancing foam;
And ever our song, as we hurry along,
 Is, "Hail to the rolling waves!"

 We play with the stately bark,
  When lull'd by the zephyr's breath;
 But beneath the tempest dark
  Our touch is the clasp of death.
Ha! ha! we fly with a fearful cry,
 Startling the clouds as we pass them by;
And still is our song, as we whirl along,
 "Hail to the foaming waves!"

 But oh! when our rage is past,
  We sorrow its work to see,
 We list to the dying blast,
  And glory at peace to be.
Ha! ha! we glide to the bright earth's side,
 And we kiss each bank, in its velvet pride;
And gay is our song, as we steal along—
 "Hail to the laughing waves!"

 Coral, and weed, and shell,
  From their fathomless caves we tear,
 To bribe the land right well,
  The might of our wrath to bear.
Ha! ha! they pine for the foaming brine,
 And they say to the sand—"We are none of thine;"
And merry our song, as we sweep them along—
 "Hail to the sparkling waves!"

 Dark as the raven's wing,
  Bright as the cloudless sky,
 Sorrow and joy we bring,
  As swift on our course we fly.
Ha! ha! we delight in the moonlit night,
 To mirror the stars with their glances bright;
And changeless our song, as we dance along—
 "Hail to the rippling waves."

 Let the earth in its pride rejoice,
  And scoff at the ocean's bed;
 Yet ours is a mighty voice,
  That thrilleth each heart with dread.
Ha! ha! we are free on the trackless sea;
 Merry, yet proud, our reign shall be;
And still is our song, as we bound along,
 All hail to the mighty waves!
H. A.