How oft I’ve longed to gaze on thee, <br />Thou proud and mighty deep! <br />Thy vast horizon, boundless, free, <br />Thy coast so rude and steep; <br />And now entranced I breathless stand, <br />Where earth and ocean meet, <br />Whilst billows wash the golden sand, <br />And break around my feet. <br /> <br />Lovely thou art when dawn’s red light <br />Sheds o’er thee its soft hue, <br />Showing fair ships, a gallant sight, <br />Upon thy waters blue; <br />And when the moonbeams softly pour <br />Their light on wave or glen, <br />And diamond spray leaps on the shore, <br />How lovely art thou then! <br /> <br />Still, as I look, faint shadows steal <br />O’er thy calm heaving breast, <br />And there are times, I sadly feel, <br />Thou art not thus at rest; <br />And I bethink me of past tales, <br />Of ships that left the shore, <br />And meeting with thy fearful gales, <br />Have ne’er been heard of more. <br /> <br />They say thy depths hold treasures rare, <br />Groves coral—sands of gold— <br />Pearls fitted for a monarch’s wear <br />And gems of worth untold; <br />But these could not to life restore <br />The idol of one home, <br />Nor make brave hearts beat high once more <br />That sleep beneath thy foam. <br /> <br />But I must chase such thoughts away, <br />They mar this happy hour, <br />Remembering thou dost but obey <br />Thy Great Creator’s, power; <br />And in my own fair inland home, <br />Mysterious, moaning main, <br />In dreams I’ll see thy snow-white foam <br />And frowning rocks again.<br /><br />Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/sea-shore-musings/
