Page:Poems for the Sea.djvu/70

Of whose strong culture, speak thy sunless plants?
And groves of coral, which no mortal guest
Hath visited, and liv'd?
What sculptor wrought
These monuments of amber, and of pearl,
Where sleeps the sea-boy, in a pomp, that earth
Denies her buried kings?
Who strangely stretch'd
A line of sand to curb thy monstrous tide,
And writing "Hitherto!"—bade the mad surge
Respect the silent mandate?
From whose loom
Came forth thy drapery, that ne'er waxeth old?
No fallen leaf, or withering floweret marks
Thy sere decadence of autumnal time.
Who hath thy keys, Oh Deep? Who taketh note
Of all thy wealth? Who numbereth the host
That spread their tent amid thy cells, and sleep
Unwaken'd, unreturning? Who doth scan
The secret annal, from Creation lock'd
In thy dark cabinet?
Still, one reply!
Each breaking billow speaks that One Dread Name