No man can understand the Sea, until
He knows all passions of the senses; all
The great emotions of the heart; and each
Exalted aspiration of the soul.
Then may he sit beside the sea and say:
‘I, too, have flung myself against the rocks,
And kissed their flinty brows with no return;
And fallen spent upon unfeeling sands.
I, too, have gone forth yearning, to far shores,
Seeking that something which would bring content;
And finding only what I took away;
And I have looked up, through the veil of skies,
When all the world was still, and understood
That I am one with Nature and with God.’
IV
The Dawn was flying from the Night;
Swift as the wind she sped;
Her hair was like a fleece of light;
Her cheeks were warm and red.
All passion pale, the Night pursued;
She fled away, away;
And in her garments, rainbow hued,
She gained the peak of day.
And then, all shaken with alarms,
She leaped down from its crest;
Into the Sea’s uplifted arms,
And swooned upon his breast.
ACQUAINTANCE
Not we who daily walk the City’s street;
Not those who have been cradled in its heart,
Best understand its architectural art,
Or realise its grandeur. Oft we meet
Some stranger who has stayed his passing feet
And lingered with us for a single hour,
And learned more of cathedral, and of tower,
Than we, who deem our knowledge quite complete.
Not always those we hold most loved and dear,
Not always those who dwell with us, know best
Our greater selves. Because they stand so near
They cannot see the lofty mountain crest,
The gleaming sun-kissed height, which fair and dear
Stands forth—revealed unto the some-time guest.
IN INDIA’S DREAMY LAND
In India’s land one listens aghast
To the people who scream and bawl;
For each caste yells at a lower caste,
And the Britisher yells at them all.