Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONNET, by CELIA LEIGHTON THAXTER


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First Line: Not so! You stand as long ago a king
Last Line: With that soft woman's hand? Nay, love, not so.
Subject(s): Love; Seashore; Beach; Coast; Shore


Not so! You stand as long ago a king
stood on the seashore, bidding back the tide
that onward rolled resistless still, to fling
its awful volume landward, wild and wide.
And just as impotent is your command
to stem the tide that rises in my soul.
It ebbs not at the lifting of your hand.
It owns no curb; it yields to no control.
Mighty it is, and of the elements—
Brother of winds and lightning, cold and fire;
subtle as light, as steadfast and intense;
sweet as the music of Apollo's lyre.
You think to rule the ocean's ebb and flow
with that soft woman's hand? Nay, love, not so.





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