A CORNER OF THE QUAY

“When the wind sulks, and the dune dries,

The old salts with uneasy eyes

Hour after hour peer at the skies.

“All are silent; their hands turning,

A brown juice from their lips they wipe;

Never a sound save, in their pipe,

The dry tobacco burning.

“That storm the almanac announces,

Where is it? They are puzzled.