Ah, child, with trembling hand I set my candle at the pane,
With fainting heart and choking breath, I heard the dolorous rain—
The sea that beat the groaning beach with wild and thunderous shocks,
The black death calling, calling from the savage equinox;
The flap of sails, the crash of masts, or so it seemed to me,
And cries of strong men drowning in the clutches of the sea.
"I never wore my wedding-gown, so crisp and fine and fair;
I never decked with bridal flowers my pretty yellow hair,
No bridegroom came to claim me when the autumn leaves were sear,
For there was bitter wailing on the rugged coast that year;