THE CORAL ISLAND.
On a stony eminence, that stood
Girt with inferior ridges, at the point,
Where light and darkness meet in spectral gloom.
Midway between the height and depth of ocean,
I mark'd a whirlpool in perpetual play,
As though the mountain were itself alive,
And catching prey on every side, with feelers
Countless as sunbeams, slight as gossamer:
Ere long transfigured, each fine film became