78
DEAD AND ALIVE.
I wonder if men, when they struggle for life
In the sinuous arms of the sea,
Have leisure to think while sinking down, down,
To think of the fearful To-Be?
I wonder if he, should he perish to-night,
Would cast back a thought after me?
In the sinuous arms of the sea,
Have leisure to think while sinking down, down,
To think of the fearful To-Be?
I wonder if he, should he perish to-night,
Would cast back a thought after me?
Through the rain, and the spoon-drift, I fancy I see
The ghastly white form of a ship,—
I hear the strain of the cordage aloft,
And the cutwater's laboring clip,—
Only a moment,—the vision is gone;
I hear but the wind sweep the shore,
And see but the death-cold gray of the fog,
And the billows toss up as before;
But the cry of a drowning, agonized soul
Will ring in my ears evermore!
The ghastly white form of a ship,—
I hear the strain of the cordage aloft,
And the cutwater's laboring clip,—
Only a moment,—the vision is gone;
I hear but the wind sweep the shore,
And see but the death-cold gray of the fog,
And the billows toss up as before;
But the cry of a drowning, agonized soul
Will ring in my ears evermore!
I know it! I feel it here in my breast!
Gone down in the horrible deep!
Uncoffined, unknelled,—no kiss on his lips
To reconcile him to his sleep!
To lie in unquiet for ages to come,
While I must exist as I be!
Be pitiful of me, sweet saints in Heaven,
Death in life compasses me!
My Thought and my Breath walk lonesomely here,
And my Heart lies buried at sea.
Gone down in the horrible deep!
Uncoffined, unknelled,—no kiss on his lips
To reconcile him to his sleep!
To lie in unquiet for ages to come,
While I must exist as I be!
Be pitiful of me, sweet saints in Heaven,
Death in life compasses me!
My Thought and my Breath walk lonesomely here,
And my Heart lies buried at sea.
