On the gray sea-sands <br />King Olaf stands, <br />Northward and seaward <br />He points with his hands. <br /> <br />With eddy and whirl <br />The sea-tides curl, <br />Washing the sandals <br />Of Sigvald the Earl. <br /> <br />The mariners shout, <br />The ships swing about, <br />The yards are all hoisted, <br />The sails flutter out. <br /> <br />The war-horns are played, <br />The anchors are weighed, <br />Like moths in the distance <br />The sails flit and fade. <br /> <br />The sea is like lead <br />The harbor lies dead, <br />As a corse on the sea-shore, <br />Whose spirit has fled! <br /> <br />On that fatal day, <br />The histories say, <br />Seventy vessels <br />Sailed out of the bay. <br /> <br />But soon scattered wide <br />O'er the billows they ride, <br />While Sigvald and Olaf <br />Sail side by side. <br /> <br />Cried the Earl: 'Follow me! <br />I your pilot will be, <br />For I know all the channels <br />Where flows the deep sea!' <br /> <br />So into the strait <br />Where his foes lie in wait, <br />Gallant King Olaf <br />Sails to his fate! <br /> <br />Then the sea-fog veils <br />The ships and their sails; <br />Queen Sigrid the Haughty, <br />Thy vengeance prevails!<br /><br />Henry Wadsworth Longfellow<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/tales-of-a-wayside-inn-part-1-the-musician-s-tale-the-saga-of-king-olaf-xviii-king-olaf-and-earl-sigvald/
