Poems (Scudder)/The Nereid
THE NEREID
Topaz, ivory the sands, Sapphire, chrysoprase the sea, Turquoise all unflawed the sky, Witchery, aye, witchery.
As I walked the beach alone, Can it be I really spied Lying there a Nereid Whom the slow retreating tide
Left beyond the farthest verge Of the grey cliff-shadow cool, With her tresses loosely spread Shining like an amber pool,
With her pale face strangely fair Where the faint blood rarely came As within the opal's heart Flickers the inconstant flame?
When I looked again I saw Naught but in a narrow ring Glinting bubbles of the foam— Was the weird and lovely thing
Throbbing with a life unknown, Soulless offspring of the sea, Sucked up by the hot sun's rays? Glamourie, aye, glamourie.