THE SEA ... A SONG.
FIRST VOICE.
How frightful the sea!—how appalling and wild!—
With the howl of the tempest, the roaring waves pil’d,
And the black clouds contending together!
SECOND VOICE.
How fair is the sea!—and its quiet how deep;
The zephyrs breathe calmly—how soft is its sleep;
How sweet and inspiring the weather!
FIRST VOICE.
Here thunders the storm-king, in terror and gloom,
And soon yonder bark shall encounter her doom—
Dash’d, a wreck, and be heard of no more!
SECOND VOICE.
The goddess Eolia here trips o’er the sea,
And yon gallant vessel, so bounding and free,
Shall, in safety, again greet the shore.
FIRST VOICE.
The demons of night flap their wings o’er the wave;
’Tis the shark’s dread abode—’tis the sea-monster’s cave—
And perils unnumber’d abound!
SECOND VOICE.
The rainbow at eve glads the mariner’s eye,
And all the rich hues of a tropical sky,
Emblazon the horizon round.
FIRST VOICE.
The same sky above, and the same sea below—
Dark or bright, rough or smooth, all the change he can know;
For the sight of the land he’s in sorrow.
SECOND VOICE.
No duns here molest, and no creditors sue;
His bills are all paid, and his cares are but few,
And he smiles at the wants of tomorrow.
FIRST VOICE.
In his blest dreams of home, he’s arous’d from his sleep,
From fireside joys, to the roar of the deep;
And ‘Aloft! meet the storm,’ is the cry.
SECOND VOICE.
To the roar of the tempest he carelessly sings;
No fears to disturb, in his hammock he swings,
And visions of home hover nigh!
FIRST VOICE.
See the lover and friend, and the mother in tears!
Dread sea, thou hast ruin’d the promise of years,
And thy cruelty long they deplore.
SECOND VOICE.
Hark! the archangel’s trump shall one day thro’ the deep,
Wake to life and to light, the long lost ones that sleep,
And old ocean her dead shall restore!