My Sea, My Sea

O MY SEA, my sea !
From east to west thou callest me,
From east to west I follow thee ;
I of the homeless heart go home
To hear thy lullaby of foam,
Thou homeless sea.
Whose dear voice hath no promise broken ;
Of disappointing change no token
Thy sweet monotony of sound
Involveth, and thou callest me ;
There's little human left so true
As thy deep billowy breast of blue
To lay the weary head upon,
Whose earthly day is nearly done ;
Thy crystal doors would let me through
To the infinite beyond
From this our life's too galling bond :
Whether on the pebbly beach.
Or on sand, thy tender speech
Makes living music, or on rock
The jubilant dear surges shock,
I hear thy voice,
And I rejoice,
Who was so very full of pain,
I deemed I could not smile again.
They ask why — since I set my dwelling
By thy billowy bosom swelling —
I do not seek my holiday
Inland : I know not what to say :
Why I travel not inland
Indeed I hardly understand ;
But, O my sea, my sea !
Mystic voices summon me,
And, like a weeping child, I come —
O sheen elusive, fluctuant foam —
Where you sing your lullaby,
There to live, or there to die.
Ah ! the fault is all in me,
Who seek what here may never be.
Who adore ethereal dreams,
That lend our earth few fleeting gleams ;
And yet I know one glimpse of Love
Is more than mines or treasure trove ;
But he hath swift wings like a dove ;
Light-nets on clear-water sand
Are less than Love's entangling band ;
Silent, unaware they come,
Silent, unaware, pass home ;
But when Love flieth, when he fadeth.
Pain grows for something that degradeth ;
Thy shores are flecked with crimson weed.
But Love's with drops from hearts that bleed ;
So for me, for me
My lipping, leaping, laughing sea —
My sea, my sea !