Waves of My Life
My far cry, though no one should echo,
Though no one to listen should stand,
I shall dare with my burden the darkness
And I shall not retreat from this land;
Though I'm hurled 'neath the feet of the millions
Who struggle their places to keep,
The sea-nymphs shall bathe with my Fancy
And the Dryads shall sweeten my sleep.
Though I'm crushed, cast away and forgotten,
Though I'm buried in the dust of their cars,
I can see through the darkness above me,
I can feel the quick pulse of the stars,
Though my head be the foot-stool of tyrants,
Though my back be the step to their throne,
I still dwell with the kings of Orion
And I walk with the sun-queen alone.
Though the fire of youth should consume me,
Thou my body a brimstone should be,
I can draw on the clouds for their water
And behold! I've of water a sea;
And though roofless, and friendless, and hopeless,
And loveless, and godless I stand,
The waves of my life shall continue
To murmur and laugh on the Strand.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1940, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 83 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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