A Sea-Change.
A spacious grave, the boundless sea,1
O vanished friend, containeth thee ;2
Tempests will chant thy dirge ;3
The ocean-bird, on airy wing,4
A lullaby for thee shall sing5
To the responsive surge.6
Far in the bosom of the deep,7
Star-splendid eyes o’er-watch thy sleep,8
And Heaven all tranquil smiles :9
Large tides of love moon-drawn appear,10
And lead thee round the watery sphere,11
Where gleam the golden isles.12
Thou sailest undeterred and free—13
The storm, the calm, alike to thee ;14
Earth’s farthest shores are thine.15
A sealèd casket of content,16
Thou goest till the years be spent,17
Dead, but oh ! still divine.18
Companionship thou lackest not :19
The sea hath scarce one lonely spot ;20
The lifeless throng its halls,21
With living weed around them furled,22
Or circumnavigate the world,23
In silence that appals.24
Toss on thy course, my solemn friend—25
Toss on, unspeaking to the end,26
With peace upon thy brow ;27
We who live here, and dream we know28
Of all above and all below,29
Are not so wise as thou.30
And we shall meet, pale wanderer, yet,31
When Death his seal on me has set,32
And opening heaven I see :33
Now far across the foam I fling34
The spirit of the song I sing35
In faint farewells to thee.36