Full oft he strives to lift his frightful head
Above the wave, and terror round him spread;
But cased in boney rings and cartilage,
Vain are his efforts, impotent his rage.
Dozing amidst the sedge with half-closed eye,
Oft has the deep re-echoed with his sigh.
The dark blue billow from his vision shields
The starry vault, the bright celestial fields:
And as the bear, when angry, licks his paws,
Thus oft he threatens, while his tail he gnaws: