The mist-strange mountains at the horizon line, And the white combers breaking on the beach; The sense of calm and infinite great reach Of sea and sky; the lure of a divine Something beyond, whereof God gives a sign To seeking souls, and seems to pledge to each A benison not caught in any speech Such as is limned by words of thine and mine. A peace of heaven encompasses and calls; The southward-speeding sun with cloudless smile Comforts a heart but now disconsolate. Sudden, o'erhead, a great bird's shadow falls: With shivering swiftness drop dark fears of guile, The omened pinions of the wing of Fate! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...OLD MAN by JEAN STARR UNTERMEYER MIDNIGHT-BY THE OPEN WINDOW by LOUIS UNTERMEYER THE BALLAD OF THE OYSTERMAN by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES A MOTHER'S LOVE by JAMES MONTGOMERY LINES WRITTEN IN SWITZERLAND by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES PSALM 24 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE |