Classic and Contemporary Poetry
A SEAFOG, by MARGARET ELIZABETH MUNSON SANGSTER Poet's Biography First Line: Up from the sea came a chill gray mist Last Line: As it bows to its gracious king. Alternate Author Name(s): Van Deth, Gerrit, Mrs. Subject(s): Death; Fog; Grief; Praise; Soul; Dead, The; Haze; Sorrow; Sadness | ||||||||
UP from the sea came a chill gray mist, Between midnight hour and morn. The stars on high that were biding tryst From watching eyes were borne; And the green fields, late by the sunlight kissed, In the darkness lay forlorn. There seemed no hope in the shrouded sky, No help in the hills remote; 'T was as if no more from the greenwood nigh, Should the song of the robin float; Nor the roses bloom, nor the young birds fly, Nor the oriole sound a note. For up from the sea came that mist of death, So vague, so wan, so white; The sea of trouble and woe, and faith Grew timorous at the sight, And love sank down, at the shivering breath Of a cruel and creeping blight. That hour of waiting, how slowly it wore Its heart-beats dull away! Distant and cold seemed the shining shore Of the beautiful yesterday, While wearily life its burden bore Along the sorrowful way. Fair in the East, lo! a line of light Pulsed and quivered and broke. God's finger moved in its gentle might, God's silence tenderly spoke. The seafog lifted! The fears took flight! The soul from its trance awoke. Ah! whence shall the wrecked on the perilous reef Of doubts, that like mists arise, Find the flash of the lances that bring relief, If not in the morning skies? And where shall they cry, through their utter grief, Except unto Paradise? The gloom will pass, and the glory dawn, When the birds begin to sing, When the murk of the night is swiftly gone, In the day's rich blossoming, And garments of praise the soul puts on As it bows to its gracious King. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONOMA FIRE by JANE HIRSHFIELD AS THE SPARKS FLY UPWARDS by JOHN HOLLANDER WHAT GREAT GRIEF HAS MADE THE EMPRESS MUTE by JUNE JORDAN CHAMBER MUSIC: 19 by JAMES JOYCE DIRGE AT THE END OF THE WOODS by LEONIE ADAMS ARE THE CHILDREN AT HOME? by MARGARET ELIZABETH MUNSON SANGSTER |
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