Pater vester Pascit illa

Our bark is on the waters ! wide around,
The wandering wave ; above, the lonely sky.
Hush ! a young sea-bird floats, and that quick cry
Shrieks to the levelled weapon's echoing sound,
Grasps its lank wing, and on, with reckless bound !
Yet, creature of the surf, a sheltering breast
To-night shall haunt in vain thy far-off nest,
A call unanswered, search the rocky ground.
Lord of Leviathan ! when Ocean heard,
Thy gathering voice, and sought his native breeze ;
When whales first plunged with life, and the proud deep
Felt unborn tempests heave in troubled sleep ;
Thou didst provide, e'en for this nameless bird,
Home, and a natural love, amid the surging seas