BLACK the storming ocean, crests that leap and whelm; Ship a tumbling ruin, stripped of spar and helm. Now she shudders upward, strangled with a sea; Then she hangs a moment, and the moon breaks free On her huddled creatures, waiting but to drown, As she reels and staggers, ready to go down. Crash! the glassy mountain whirls her to her grave. In the foam three struggle; one his love will save. There's a plank for two, but, as he lifts her there, Lo! his rival sinking; eyes that clutch despair. Only a swift instant left him to decide, -- Shall he drown, and yield the other life and bride? In the peaceful morning stays a snowy sail. Two afloat, -- one missing. Which one? Did he fail, -- Coward, merely man? Or did the great sea darken eyes All divinely shining with self-sacrifice? |