Through darkness and thunder, flash, shriek, din, and foam,
Now deep-clasped in the vale, and now rocked on the dome
Of the wave, I was borne o'er the windy expanse
Of chill vapor and spray by the terrible glance
Of the lightning; I pressed thy cold cheek unto mine;
From thy locks fast down-trickled the luminous brine;
By thy breath on my brow, by the serpentine path
Of the death-flame that blazed on its journey of wrath,
I knew thee; I knew, my beloved, thou wast there,
In the battle of waves, through my night of despair.