Stella Maris.
XVII.
I left at morn that blissful shore
O'er which the fruit-bloom fluttered free;
And sailed the wildering waters o'er,
Till sunset streaked with blood the sea.
My sleep the hoarse sea-thunders broke,
And sudden chill. Their feet foam-hid,
Huge cliffs leaned out, through vapour-smoke,
Like tower, and tomb, and pyramid.
In the black shadow, ghostly white
The breaker raced o'er foaming shoals:
From caverns of eternal night
Came wailings, as of suffering souls.
Sudden, through clearing mists, the star
Of ocean o'er the billow rose:
Down dropped the elemental war;
Tormented chaos found repose.
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Star of the ocean! dear art thou,
Ah! not to earth and heaven alone:
The suffering Church, when shines thy brow
Upon her penance, stays her moan.
The Holy Souls draw in their breath;
The sea of anguish rests in peace;
And, from beyond the gates of death,
Up swell the anthems of release.
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XVIII.
Blossom for ever, blossoming Rod!
Thou did'st not blossom once to die:
That Life which, issuing forth from God,
Thy life enkindled, runs not dry.
Without a root in sin-stained earth,
'Twas thine to bud Salvation's flower.
No single soul the Church brings forth
But blooms from thee and is thy dower.
Rejoice, O Eve! thy promise waned;
Transgression nipt thy flower with frost
But, lo! a mother man hath gained
Holier than she in Eden lost.