The Ground Swell

How soft the shades of evening creep
O'er yonder dewy lea,
Whose balmy winds have lulled to sleep
The tenants of the tree.
No wandering breeze is here to sweep
In shadowy ripple o'er the deep,
Yet swells the heaving sea!

How calm the sky! rest, ocean, rest,
From storm and ruffle free,
Calm as the image on thy breast
Of her that governs thee!
And yet beneath the moon's mild reign
Thy broad breast heaves as one in pain,
Thou dark and silent sea!

There are whom fortune vainly woos
With all her pageantry,
Whom every flattering bliss pursues,
Yet still they fare like thee;
The spell is laid within their mind,
Least wretched then when most resigned,
Their hearts throb silently.