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21.But soft!
Sink low—soft!
Soft! Let me just murmur,
And do you wait a moment, you husky-noised sea,
For somewhere I believe I heard my mate responding
to me,
So faint—I must be still to listen,
But not altogether still, for then she might not come
immediately to me.

22.Hither, my love!
Here I am! Here!
With this just-sustained note I announce myself to
you,
This gentle call is for you, my love.

23.Do not be decoyed elsewhere!
That is the whistle of the wind—it is not my voice,
That is the fluttering of the spray,
Those are the shadows of leaves.

24.O darkness! O in vain!
O I am very sick and sorrowful.

25.O brown halo in the sky, near the moon, drooping
upon the sea!
O troubled reflection in the sea!
O throat! O throbbing heart!
O all—and I singing uselessly all the night.

26.Murmur! Murmur on!
O murmurs—you yourselves make me continue to
sing, I know not why.