SONG OF THE SEA.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 378, 19 June 1889, Page 5

SONG OF THE SEA.

The song of the sea was an ancient song In the days when the earth was young ; The wares were gossiping loud and long Ere mortals had found a tongue ; ..,„„„„, The heart of the waves with wrath vras wrung Or soothed to a siren strain, As they tossed the primitive isles among Or slept in the open main. Such was the song and its changes free, Such was the sonpr of the sea. The song of the sea took a human tone In the days ot the coming of man ; A mournfuler meaning swelled her moan, And fiercer her riots ran ; Because that her stately voice began To speak of our human woes; With music mighty to grasp and span Lite's tale and its passion-thro«s. Such was the song that it grew to he. Such was the song of the sea. The song of the sea was a hungry sound As the human years unrolled ; For the notes v,ere hoarse with the doomed and drowned, Or choked with a shipwreck's gold ; Till it seemed no dirge above the mould So sorr y a story said As the midnight cry of the waters old Calling above their dead.' Such is the song and its threnody. Such is the song of the sea. The song of the sea is a wondrous lay, For it mirrors human life ; It is grave and great as the judgment day It is torn with the thought of strife Yet under the stars it is smooth and ri With lovelights everywhere, When the sky has taicen the deep to wife And their wedding day is fail— Such is the ocean's mystery Such is th song of the sea. Richard E. Burton, in Toronto ' Globe.