O WAVES, that break at my feet, What saw ye out on the deep? Saw ye the watch-dogs of our Fleet, That guard and never sleep? Aye! they cleave a path of gleaming white From rising sun till the noon of night; Their thunders answer the stricken foe, But many a gallant heart lies low; Wrapt in a shroud of white sea foam Our Mother takes the sailors home. O wind, that ruffles the deep, Bear ye no word of cheer Of the hearts that vigil keep O'er the rolling wastes of fear? Aye! for they laugh at my wildest breath, And rush bright-eyed in the jaws of Death, A cheer on their lips and hearts aflame As tho' they loved the deadly game. O they fight as men, as men they die, And I waft their muttered prayers on high. O stars, that glitter so cold, Above all the seas to-night, Can you from your Heaven behold The flush of a Dawning bright? Aye! the reek of guns still fouls the sky, And still the pallid shades wing by; But this is writ in the Book of Fate, Twin Glories stand at the Empire's Gate, Bright Victory bids the conflict cease And flings the portal wide for Peace. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ITALIAN PICTURES: THE COSTA SAN GIORGIO by MINA LOY EPITAPH UPON A CHILD THAT DIED by ROBERT HERRICK TWILIGHT AT THE HEIGHTS by CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER EPIGRAM ENGRAVED ON THE COLLAR OF A DOG by ALEXANDER POPE NORTHBOUN' by LUCY ARIEL WILLIAMS OVERTURE TO A DANCE OF LOCOMOTIVES by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS SHADOWS ON THE WALL by ALEXANDER (ALEKSANDR) ALEXANDROVICH BLOK |