The Song Of The Sea Shell

Come press your coral lip against my ear Frail vagrant of the sea, And sing to me the songs I love to hear From ocean’s symphony. Of tides that set in far off palmy isles Where ukuleles strum, And star eyed maidens wreathed in flowers and smiles Dance to your rhythmic hum. No plaintive bird, full throated with the spring, Warbles a sweeter note Than those enchanting melodies that ring Within your pearly throat. Sonorous chords that sound a minor key, Sea chanties hoarse and low, The echoes of the mermaid’s minstrelsy, And songs the sirens know. But now a bit of flotsam on the beach Imprisoned in my hand, I listen to the mysteries you teach And strive to understand. Your music leaves me in a brooding vein Sweet chantress of the deep, For in those elfin strains you wake again From death’s engulfing sleep And when, like you, upon life’s farthest shore Time bears my empty shell, O may such songs as your immortal store Be mine as well!