A broader and a broader stream.
That rocked the little boat!
The Cormorant stands upon its shoals,
His black and dripping wings
Half opened to the wind.
The Sun goes down, the crescent Moon
Is brightening in the firmament;
And what is yonder roar
That sinking now and swelling now,
But roaring, roaring still,
Still louder, louder, grows?
The little boat falls rapidly
Adown the rapid tide,
The Moon is bright above,
And the wide Ocean opens on their way!
Then did the Damsel speak again
“Wilt thou go on with me?
“The Moon is bright, the sea is calm
“And I know well the ocean-paths;...
“Wilt thou go on with me?
“Deliverer! yes! thou dost not fear!
“Thou wilt go on with me!”
“Sail on, sail on!” quoth Thalaba
“Sail on, in Allah’s name!”
The Moon is bright, the sea is calm,
The little boat rides rapidly
Across the ocean waves;
The line of moonlight on the deep
Still follows as they voyage on;
The winds are motionless;
The gentle waters gently part
In murmurs round the prow.
He looks above, he looks around,
The boundless heaven, the boundless sea,
The crescent moon, the little boat,
Nought else above, below.
The Moon is sunk, a dusky grey
Spreads o’er the Eastern sky,
The Stars grow pale and paler;
Oh beautiful! the godlike Sun
Is rising o’er the sea!
Without an oar, without a sail
The little boat rides rapidly;...
Is that a cloud that skirts the sea?
There is no cloud in heaven!
And nearer now, and darker now....
It is ... it is ... the Land!
For yonder are the rocks that rise
Dark in the reddening morn,
For loud around their hollow base
The surges rage and roar.
The little boat rides rapidly,
And now with shorter toss it heaves
Upon the heavier swell;
And now so near they see
The shelves and shadows of the cliff,
And the low-lurking rocks
O’er whose black summits hidden-half
The shivering billows burst.
And nearer now they feel the breaker’s spray.
Then spake the Damsel, “yonder is our path
“Beneath the cavern arch.
“Now is the ebb, and till the ocean-flow
“We cannot over-ride the rocks.
“Go thou and on the shore
“Perform thy last ablutions, and with prayer
“Strengthen thy heart.... I too have need to pray.”
She held the helm with steady hand
Amid the stronger waves,
Thro’ surge and surf she drove,
The adventurer leapt to land.