THE song of the sea was an ancient song In the days when the earth was young; The waves were gossiping loud and long Ere mortals had found a tongue; The heart of the waves with wrath was wrung Or soothed to a siren strain, As they tossed the primitive isles among Or slept in the open main. Such was the song and its changes free, Such was the song of the sea. The song of the sea took a human tone In the days of the coming of man; A mournfuller meaning swelled her moan, And fiercer her riots ran; Because that her stately voice began To speak of our human woes; With music mighty to grasp and span Life's tale and its passion-throes. Such was the song as it grew to be. Such was the song of the sea. The song of the sea was a hungry sound As the human years unrolled; For the notes were hoarse with the doomed and drowned, Or choked with a shipwreck's gold: Till it seemed no dirge above the mold So sorry a story said As the midnight cry of the waters old Calling above their dead. Such is the song and its threnody, Such is the song of the sea. The song of the sea is a wondrous lay, For it mirrors human life; It is grave and great as the judgment day, It is torn with the thought of strife; Yet under the stars it is smooth and rife With love-lights everywhere, When the sky has taken the deep to wife And their wedding-day is fair -- Such is the ocean's mystery, Such is the song of the sea. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE GARDEN SEAT by THOMAS HARDY DREAMS OLD AND NASCENT: NASCENT by DAVID HERBERT LAWRENCE HOMAGE TO SEXTUS PROPERTIUS: 7 by EZRA POUND BUILDING THE LIBRARY, TOKYO UNIVERSITY; NIGHT SCENE by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN |