I saw the long line of the vacant shore, The sea-weed and the shells upon the sand, And the brown rocks left bare on every hand, As if the ebbing tide would flow no more. Then heard I, more distinctly than before, The ocean breathe and its great breast expand, And hurrying came on the defenceless land The insurgent waters with tumultuous roar. All thought and feeling and desire, I said, Love, laughter, and the exultant joy of song Have ebbed from me forever! Suddenly o'er me They swept again from their deep ocean bed, And in a tumult of delight, and strong As youth, and beautiful as youth, upbore me. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO THE LAPLAND LONGSPUR by JOHN BURROUGHS YOUR MISSION by ELLEN M. HUNTINGTON GATES HOME (2) by EDGAR ALBERT GUEST TO HIS CONSCIENCE by ROBERT HERRICK IN MEMORIAM A.H.H.: 14 by ALFRED TENNYSON LITTLE BOATIE'; A SLUMBER SONG FOR THE FISHERMAN'S CHILD by HENRY VAN DYKE THE TENT ON THE BEACH: 11. ABRAHAM DAVENPORT by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER THE BOUNDARIES OF APPRECIATION by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS TO JOHN DRYDEN, ESQ.; POET LAUREATE AND HISTOGRAPHER ROYAL by PHILIP AYRES |