I started early, took my dog, <br />And visited the sea; <br />The mermaids in the basement <br />Came out to look at me. <br /> <br />And frigates in the upper floor <br />Extended hempen hands, <br />Presuming me to be a mouse <br />Aground, upon the sands. <br /> <br />But no man moved me till the tide <br />Went past my simple shoe, <br />And past my apron and my belt, <br />And past my bodice too, <br /> <br />And made as he would eat me up <br />As wholly as a dew <br />Upon a dandelion's sleeve - <br />And then I started too. <br /> <br />And he - he followed close behind; <br />I felt his silver heel <br />Upon my ankle, - then my shoes <br />Would overflow with pearl. <br /> <br />Until we met the solid town, <br />No man he seemed to know; <br />And bowing with a mighty look <br />At me, the sea withdrew.<br /><br />Emily Dickinson<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/by-the-sea-3/
