- THE SHIP
I MADE a ship of my cruelty,
A wonderful, terrible ship,
With masts of silver and ebony,
And bulwarks of carven ivory,
And a figure-head of chalcedony,
And a prow like a lion's lip.
And I sat in the stern of my ship,
Alone, be it said and known,
You are always alone in that kind of ship,
Put your finger upon your lip!
Christ's mother, how deep alone!
And in my ship I sailed;
And the waters were purple and green;
And all day long the sea-gulls wailed
And the sun went down and the waters paled
And a phantom-moon was seen.
And under the moon I still sailed on;
But not only the moon was there!
Algol, the Demon's Eye, looked down —
Algol, the Eye of the Demon, shone,
Thro' the chill and frozen air.
Oh ship, my ship, called Cruelty!
Is it forgotten then of thee
