TERRIBLE waves! In fierce, unearthly chorus Ye threaten the frail vessel to entomb; Still darker than the fearful storm-cloud o'er us, Your yawning gulfs of death-portending gloom. Beautiful waves! In joyous freedom dancing, Ye burst like living things upon the strand; Your snowy crests in the pure sunlight glancing, Flash like a vision bright of fairy-land. Oh, such are trials! All Earth's sons and daughter Feel in them awful messengers of ire, More dark and dread than ocean's troubled waters; Death, and not Life, their horrors aye inspire. Not so in Heaven! On that shore of gladness Each past grief seems a blessing, and each pain Hath lost the midnight hues of earthborn sadness,— The once-dark waves gleam bright—each loss appears a gain. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BALLAD by CHARLES STUART CALVERLEY THE BELL by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES A LITTLE SONG OF LIFE by LIZETTE WOODWORTH REESE CORTEGE FOR ROSENBLOOM by WALLACE STEVENS THE STORY OF ZERBIN AND ISABELLA, FR. ORLANDO FURIOSO by LUDOVICO (LODOVICO) ARIOSTO PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 26. AL-MUZIL by EDWIN ARNOLD SONNET FROM JAPAN: 2. THE SHRINE OF THE PILGRIM SANDALS by ADELAIDE NICHOLS BAKER BRYANT'S BIRTHPLACE by CHARLOTTE FISKE BATES TRINITIE SUNDAY (FOR A BASE AND TWO TREBLES) by JOSEPH BEAUMONT |