We say the sea is lonely; better say <br />Ourselves are lonesome creatures whom the sea <br />Gives neither yes or no for company. <br /> <br />Oh, there are people, all right, settled in the sea- <br />It is as populous as Maine today- <br />But no one who will give you the time of day. <br /> <br />A man who asks there of his family <br />Or a friend or teacher gets a cold reply <br />Or finds him dead against that vast majority. <br /> <br />They are speechless. And the famous noise of the sea, <br />Which a poet has beautifully told us in our day, <br />Is hardly a sound to speak comfort to the lonely. <br /> <br />Although not yet a man given to prayer, I pray <br />For each creature lost since the start of the sea, <br />And give thanks that it was not I, nor yet one close to me.<br /><br />William Morris Meredith Jr.<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-open-sea-4/
