Wrought and rended, felled and fashioned
‘Ere unkindled night was blazoned
Time on time does rage the sea
Of yearless wars keeps memory.
Rage and ruin, crash and clamor
Slams the sky’s resounding hammer
Rise the winds in fierce array
Assailing waves that rushing grey
Build in mountains fall to dells
Muster hosts within its swells.
Riding forth from secret gates,
Foamy steeds that froth their hate.
Tossed from trough to tow’ring height,
Driven on a wild flight,
By wind and wind and writhen waves,
No light meets desperate searching gaze.
Limply lie our furled sails,
A trill that quails, fluting fails
Silenced by the smothering cry,
Of roar and wind, in vain it dies.
Sweeps then wave to pitching deck
Lest in woe we wend to wreck,
Fighting fierce ‘gainst tempest gale,
Wave to wave hard-tossed and frail.
Then the sea with mighty knell,
Snatches with a tow’ring swell.
Wave on wave, blindly flail,
Loud the keening wind does wail.
Till riven sky with lightning rends,
And tossing shadows darkling wend.
But piercing through the ceaseless roar,
Resounding horn from shore to shore,
And all between the waves they keep
One moment silence in the deeps.
A silence in the warring squall
At the wild waking call.
Forth the rushing waters wend
And echo bring to world’s end.
Unquiet now and restless stirs,
My heart on sea-dark paths to turn.
And listen ever, sailing on,
Seeking ever seas upon
From fall of night to bursting morn,
Unquiet now for sounding horn.
