Fresh from his fastnesses <br />Wholesome and spacious, <br />The North Wind, the mad huntsman, <br />Halloas on his white hounds <br />Over the grey, roaring <br />Reaches and ridges, <br />The forest of ocean, <br />The chace of the world. <br />Hark to the peal <br />Of the pack in full cry, <br />As he thongs them before him, <br />Swarming voluminous, <br />Weltering, wide-wallowing, <br />Till in a ruining <br />Chaos of energy, <br />Hurled on their quarry, <br />They crash into foam! <br /> <br />Old Indefatigable, <br />Time's right-hand man, the sea <br />Laughs as in joy <br />From his millions of wrinkles: <br />Laughs that his destiny, <br />Great with the greatness <br />Of triumphing order, <br />Shows as a dwarf <br />By the strength of his heart <br />And the might of his hands. <br /> <br />Master of masters, <br />O maker of heroes, <br />Thunder the brave, <br />Irresistible message:- <br />'Life is worth Living <br />Through every grain of it, <br />From the foundations <br />To the last edge <br />Of the cornerstone, death.'<br /><br />William Ernest Henley<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fresh-from-his-fastnesses/
