The Secret of the Sea
By Henry Wordsworth
Longfellow
Ah! what pleasant
visions haunt me
As I gaze upon the sea!
All the old romantic
legends,
All my dreams, come back to me.
Sails of silk and
ropes of sandal,
Such as gleam in ancient lore;
And the singing of the
sailors,
And the answer from the shore!
[Tell me of] the
Spanish ballad…
Of the noble Count
Arnaldos…
Like the long waves on
a sea-beach,
Where the sand as silver shines,
With a soft,
monotonous cadence,
Flow its unrhymed lyric lines;--
Tell [me] how the
Count Arnaldos,…
Saw a fair and stately
galley,…
How he heard the
ancient helmsman
Chant a song so wild and clear,
That the sailing
sea-bird slowly
Poised upon the mast to hear,
Till his soul was full
of longing,
And he cried, with impulse strong,--
"Helmsman! for
the love of heaven,
Teach me, too, that wondrous song!"
"Wouldst
thou,"--so the helmsman answered,
"Learn the secret of the sea?
Only those who brave
its dangers
Comprehend its mystery!"
In each sail that
skims the horizon,
In each landward-blowing breeze,
I behold that stately
galley,
Hear those mournful melodies;
Till my soul is full
of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the
great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.
