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JOSEPH KNIGHT.
THE SEA BY MOONLIGHT.
His first printed poem.
The setting sun had sunk beneath the tide,
And, glittering in her starry diadem,
The silver crescent, like an Eastern bride,
As fair, as pure, as the bright diamond gem,
Unveiled her lovely head; the billows hem,
With glittering spray and foam, the rocky shore,
Whose beetling crags the gathering waters stem,
Which, fretting, break with wild tumultuous roar,
While towards the azure Heavens their crested summits soar.
And, glittering in her starry diadem,
The silver crescent, like an Eastern bride,
As fair, as pure, as the bright diamond gem,
Unveiled her lovely head; the billows hem,
With glittering spray and foam, the rocky shore,
Whose beetling crags the gathering waters stem,
Which, fretting, break with wild tumultuous roar,
While towards the azure Heavens their crested summits soar.
Hark! o'er the moonlit waters borne along—
Now loud, now soft, as swells or dies the gale—
Rises some lone advent'rer's distant song,
Blending with the hoarse sea-birds' dismal wail,
Singing, as 'neath the moonbeams glistening pale,
His little skiff dances along the sea,
The scattered spray kissing her snowy sail,
The waters' wide waste heaving on her lee,
While the young Rover sings, exulting, careless, free.
Now loud, now soft, as swells or dies the gale—
Rises some lone advent'rer's distant song,
Blending with the hoarse sea-birds' dismal wail,
Singing, as 'neath the moonbeams glistening pale,
His little skiff dances along the sea,
The scattered spray kissing her snowy sail,
The waters' wide waste heaving on her lee,
While the young Rover sings, exulting, careless, free.
And now she nears the shore: upon the prow,
With youth elate, the daring sailor stands;
Fair hope sits laughing on his open brow;
He grasps her cable in his manly hands,
He feels her keel graze on the shelving sands;
A moment more, and from the deck he springs,
And on the yielding beach in safety lands;
Then his frail bark far on the shore he brings,
And, to beguile his task, still cheerfully he sings.
With youth elate, the daring sailor stands;
Fair hope sits laughing on his open brow;
He grasps her cable in his manly hands,
He feels her keel graze on the shelving sands;
A moment more, and from the deck he springs,
And on the yielding beach in safety lands;
Then his frail bark far on the shore he brings,
And, to beguile his task, still cheerfully he sings.
But now his strain in distance dies away;
All human sounds have ceased, and peaceful sleep
Enwraps the smiling scene, save where, in play,
The calmed billows of the surging deep
Responsive whisper to the winds, that sweep
Along the sea, or in the briny tide
The hoarse sea-mews their glossy plumage steep,
And, gaily sporting, onward now they glide,
Like a swift arrow's flight across the waters wide.
All human sounds have ceased, and peaceful sleep
Enwraps the smiling scene, save where, in play,
The calmed billows of the surging deep
Responsive whisper to the winds, that sweep
Along the sea, or in the briny tide
The hoarse sea-mews their glossy plumage steep,
And, gaily sporting, onward now they glide,
Like a swift arrow's flight across the waters wide.
Can there be one whose spirit will not melt,
Listening to the waves' wild harmony?
Nor feel a charm he n'er before has felt—
A wild ecstatic pleasure through him fly—
Thrill every nerve, and chain his wondering eye
Unto the spot, and, gazing on this scene,
Viewing the placid ocean rearing high
Her billowy breast, unmoved the waves has seen
Foam on the sea-girt coast, and scatter wide their sheen?
Listening to the waves' wild harmony?
Nor feel a charm he n'er before has felt—
A wild ecstatic pleasure through him fly—
Thrill every nerve, and chain his wondering eye
Unto the spot, and, gazing on this scene,
Viewing the placid ocean rearing high
Her billowy breast, unmoved the waves has seen
Foam on the sea-girt coast, and scatter wide their sheen?
