Poems (Sharpless)/At Sea
For works with similar titles, see At Sea.
AT SEA
Darkly the shadows of the night Deepen upon rainy seas, Upon the desolate rainy seas,And not a single point of light Pierces the gray obscurities.Through the dark waves, with no delayThe good ship speeds her onward way.
A little bird with weary wing Perches upon the topmost mast, A speck upon the tapering mast;Storm-wearied, bruised, affrighted thing, He sleeps and dreams of home at last;I watch him, marvelling much what HandGuides his far wandering flight from land.
Yet has my spirit been afar, Drifting upon the shifting sea; On speculation's weary sea,Where seems no shore, where beams no star Nor any point of rest for me.While missing God, I only cryGive me a Saviour, or I die.
Then o'er the wild waves sped a thought, A memory of an oft-proved Love, A deep and all-supporting Love;And I to that have firmly caught, And ridden the wild waves above,Until we came to some fair shore,And doubt and dread at once were o'er.
So sleep, thou little bird, in peace; The morning sun shall shine on thee, Lighting thy pathway o'er the seaTo sunny lands where storms shall cease; Where rocking on some leafy treeThis lonely night upon the mastShall seem a fevered dream all past.