Athwart the harbor lingers yet <br />The ashen gleam of breaking day, <br />And where the guardian cliffs are set <br />The noiseless shadows steal away; <br />But all the winnowed eastern sky <br />Is flushed with many a tender hue, <br />And spears of light are smiting through <br />The ranks where huddled sea-mists fly. <br /> <br />Across the ocean, wan and gray, <br />Gay fleets of golden ripples come, <br />For at the birth-hour of the day <br />The roistering, wayward winds are dumb. <br />The rocks that stretch to meet the tide <br />Are smitten with a ruddy glow, <br />And faint reflections come and go <br />Where fishing boats at anchor ride. <br /> <br />All life leaps out to greet the light -- <br />The shining sea-gulls dive and soar, <br />The swallows whirl in dizzy flight, <br />And sandpeeps flit along the shore. <br />From every purple landward hill <br />The banners of the morning fly, <br />But on the headlands, dim and high, <br />The fishing hamlets slumber still. <br /> <br />One boat alone beyond the bar <br />Is sailing outward blithe and free, <br />To carry sturdy hearts afar <br />Across those wastes of sparkling sea; <br />Staunchly to seek what may be won <br />From out the treasures of the deep, <br />To toil for those at home who sleep <br />And be the first to greet the sun.<br /><br />Lucy Maud Montgomery<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/sunrise-along-shore/
