Alone I stood in that still house of Time,

All swept and bare it was as at the prime,

And but the sea-wind peopled it with sighs,

And, heard afar, the slow waves’ measured chime.

CXXII

I saw Time’s shape colossal rising stark

Against the endless waves, receding dark

Beneath a rising dawn that never rose

Upon the sea, where yet would Hope embark.

CXXIII