I DWELL in the sea that is wild and deep, <br />But afar in a shadow still, <br />I can see the trees that gather and sleep <br />In the wood upon the hill. <br /> <br />The deeps are green as an emerald's face, <br />The caves are crystal calm, <br />But I wish the sea were a little trace <br />Of moisture in God's palm. <br /> <br />The waves are weary of hiding pearls, <br />Are aweary of smothering gold, <br />They would all be air that sweeps and swirls <br />In the branches manifold. <br /> <br />They are weary of laving the seaman's eyes <br />With their passion prayer unsaid, <br />They are weary of sobs and the sudden sighs <br />And movements of the dead. <br /> <br />All the sea is haunted with human lips <br />Ashen and sere and gray, <br />You can hear the sails of the sunken ships <br />Stir and shiver and sway <br /> <br />In the weary solitude; <br />If mine were the will of God, the main <br />Should melt away in the rustling wood <br />Like a mist that follows the rain. <br /> <br />But I dwell in the sea that is wild and deep <br />And afar in the shadow still, <br />I can see the trees that gather and sleep <br />In the wood upon the hill.<br /><br />Duncan Campbell Scott<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-sea-by-the-wood/
