Classic Poem

Venus, take this shell,
Offering of a bride!
Once it rose and fell
On thy moony tide;
Let its pearly bulwarks dwell
By thy side.

Rigged with gossamer,
O'er thy seas it flew;
Never a wind would stir
Cord or sail or crew;
Halcyon-like, this mariner
Cleft the blue.

Blithe even so was I,
Gay, light-hearted maid;
Now my sails are dry,
My fond crew afraid;
Goddess, goddess! come, I cry,
To my aid!

Is it bliss or woe,
Nevermore to flee
O'er the full heart's flow,
Indolent and free, —
As this shell strayed long ago
O'er the sea?

Venus, take this shell,
Pearly like a tear!
Ah! I cannot tell
What I wish or fear;
Guard me through the miracle,
Dread and dear.