THE SEA TO A DESERT DWELLER

Lo here is the sea, the sea! And long waves leaped to my feet; Foam-white the breakers beat, Or crept to the hedging rocks As a whipped cur creeps to the knee— Look, here is the sea, the sea! Was it regal, as I had dreamed, With its far-drawn dole of ships? Or sad with the breath of lips That greet their beloved no more? Wetly the white sands gleamed; Like those other sands they seemed. I have stood as the sun went down, At dusk on the desert’s edge, In the grip of a sheltering ledge, And watched the wide plain burn To silver from red and brown; Gem-set like a royal crown. These waves that ripple and roll Have rippled in waves of light Long since to my childish sight; And the pale heat vapors that glide Were sea sprites taking toll For a chartless voyager’s soul. Low lights ashine on the lee, Where the orient steamers come; E’en so the stars at home Hang low in the purple sky;— ’Twas the face of a friend to me, But they cry “The sea! The sea!”