TIDAL, KING OF NATIONS

Tidal, King of Nations, Sent a proclamation forth To the tribes of the South And the clans of the North; His word flew and travelled Quick as a gathering flame, The far-off people shook At the rumour of his name. Tidal, King of Nations, Thy name is for thee, Shadowy and vast, An immortality. Tidal, King of Nations— Lo, at the sound Terrible armies leap Crying from the ground. High in the midst, on A white throne is He, Set as a firm rock In the surge of the sea. Clear as the moon his brow is, But in his secret eyes Shadow within shadow dark The future lies. In his hand glitters The phantom of a sword; The warring peoples cry And hail him for lord: But within his dark eyes Where future time grows Are gentleness, mercy, Peace and repose. The nations bow and tremble, They do not understand, They only see the gleam Of the wrath in his hand. Tidal, King of Nations, Thy name is for thee,— Oh, far-off brotherhood!— An immortality.