|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
SEA-SHELL MURMURS, by EUGENE JACOB LEE-HAMILTON Poet's Biography
First Line: The hollow sea-shell, which for years hath
Last Line: A world unreal as the shell-heard sea.
Subject(s): Shells; Conchology
First Line: The hollow sea-shell, which for years hath
Last Line: A world unreal as the shell-heard sea.
Subject(s): Shells; Conchology
THE hollow sea-shell, which for years hath stood
On dusty shelves, when held against the ear
Proclaims its stormy parents; and we hear
The faint far murmur of the breaking flood.
We hear the sea. The sea? It is the blood
In our own veins, impetuous and near,
And pulses keeping pace with hope and fear
And with our feelings' every shifting mood.
Lo, in my heart I hear, as in a shell,
The murmur of a world beyond the grave,
Distinct, distinct, though faint and far it be.
Thou fool; this echo is a cheat as well, --
The hum of earthly instincts; and we crave
A world unreal as the shell-heard sea.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
TANKA DIARY (2) by HARRYETTE MULLEN
APPRECIATION by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH
TO SOME LADIES [ON RECEIVING A CURIOUS SHELL] by JOHN KEATS
ON SOME SHELLS FOUND INLAND by TRUMBULL STICKNEY
WITH A NANTUCKET SHELL by CHARLES HENRY WEBB
AN ENGLISH SHELL by ARTHUR CHRISTOPHER BENSON
SEA LAVENDER by LOUISE MOREY BOWMAN
SUNKEN GOLD by EUGENE JACOB LEE-HAMILTON