Page:Poems Thaxter.djvu/28

Where tossed the distant waves, and far
 Shone silver-white a quiet sail;
And overhead the soaring gulls
 With graceful pinions stemmed the gale.

And all my pulses thrilled with joy,
 Watching the winds' and waters' strife,
With sudden rapture,—and I cried,
 "O sweet is Life! Thank God for life!"

Sailed any cloud across the sky,
 Marring this glory of the sun's?
Over the sea, from distant forts,
 There came the boom of minute-guns!

War-tidings! Many a brave soul fled,
 And many a heart the message stuns!
I saw no more the joyous waves,
 I only heard the minute-guns.