Classic Poem

In the coiled shell sounds Ocean's distant roar,
Oft to our listening hearts come heavenly strains; —
Men say, " That was the blood in our own veins,
And this, — but the echo of our hope; no more. "
And yet, the murmuring sea exists, which bore
That frail creation o'er its watery plains;
And on Time's sands full many a shell remains
Tossed by Eternity upon its shore.
Its tongue our hope from Nature's self has caught.
Matter nor force is lost as aeons roll.
And mind? — Love life conserves and death abates, —
Through the long ages this has nature taught.
Under the stars she plights the wistful soul:
" Life ruled by Love nor dies nor dissipates. "