Classic Poem

I.

There's a sad sea-maiden
Sighs day and night;
For lack of Eden
Her eyes weep sore;
If you come upon her
By pale moonlight, —
Farewell to honour
For evermore!
Tho' her hair is redder
Than blood fresh spilt,
'Tis you must wed her
And share her guilt;
'Tis you, more pity!
Must buried be
In her shining City
Beneath the Sea.

II.

But shouldest thou view her
When shines the sun,
And softly unto her
On tiptoe creep,
You'll find her dozing
As I have done,
Naked reposing
In a sunny sleep;
Then be quickly ready
To seize her hair,
And to name Our Lady
As she wakens there;
And tho' clouds may thunder
O'er the waters wide,
To the walls of wonder
She'll be your guide.

III.

In the year of hunger,
That's long gone by,
When I was younger
Who now am old,
By the Ocean dreary
Like a taisch went I,
Thin, weak and weary,
With want and cold.
O sweetly gleaming
Was the Sea that hour,
And the sun was streaming
Thro' a golden shower;
As I wandered sighing
For the famished Land,
I beheld her lying
On the yellow strand!

IV.

Like the silver shining
Was the Maiden's skin,
The red locks twining
To the breasts of white,
Her cheeks were hueless
And chill and thin,
Her lips were dewless,
But her eyes were bright.
Behind her creeping
I held her hair, —
As she scream'd upleaping
I said the prayer; —
" O Midian-Mara!
I hold thee mine:
Thy help I borrow,
By the Cross's sign!"

V.

Hast thou ever noted
A wounded seal,
As it bleats shrill-throated
Before it dies?
As a seal's eyes turning
On them that kill,
With a dying yearning,
Were the maiden's eyes.
With those orbs of azure
She gazed on me: —
" O what's thy pleasure,
Gilli ma chree? "
And her tears fell brightly
Upon the sands,
As she trembled whitely
With wringing hands.

VI.

" O take me straightway,"
To her said I,
" To the City's gateway
That well ye know —
'Tis the hunger kills me,
And that's no lie,
And a longing fills me
From earth to go."
She ceased her crying,
And sadly said,
With the white gulls flying
Above her head,
" Is it there, mavourneen ,
Ye'd wish to stand,
That were bred and born in
A Christian land?"

VII.

I knew her nature
Was sly and deep,
Tho' the wicked creature
Had a heavenly face;
And I looked below me
At the waves asleep,
As I answered, " Show me
That very place!
'Tis You must charm me
To take the track,
And no hand shall harm me
Till I come back."
As I spake, deep thunder
Was heard that day,
And I saw, far under,
Where the City lay!

VIII.

'Neath the green still ocean.
Far, far, below,
With a mystic motion
That can't be told,
I saw it gleaming
On a strand of snow,
Its bright towers beaming
All glass and gold!
And a sound thrilled thro' me
Like the sound of bells,
Upwafted to me
On the ocean swells;
And I saw far under,
Within those same,
White shapes of wonder
That went and came!

IX.

" O Mary, mother,
That savest me,
'Tis the place, no other,
Where I would go;
For 'tis sweet and pleasant,
Set 'neath the Sea
In the bright white crescent
Of the strand below.
'Tis the hunger in me
That works its will,
Lest the devil win me
To steal or kill."
I held her tighter,
And prayed anew: —
As I spoke, still brighter
That vision grew.

X.

Still glassy and shining
Those walls of flame,
With the sea-weeds twining
Around their feet;
More large the place's
Great towers became,
Till I saw the faces
In the golden street.
I saw and knew them
(The Lord's my guide!)
As the water drew them
From side to side;
I saw the creatures,
And I knew them then —
The wool-white features
Of drownid men!

XI.

Upright they drifted,
All wet and cold,
By the sea-wash lifted
Like the red sea-tang,
While in wild sad cadence,
From the towers of gold,
The pale sea-maidens
Struck harps and sang
" O shule, shule,
O shule, aroon!"
I tell thee truly,
I heard them croon;
Then I heard that thunder
Roll deep once more,
And I swooned for wonder
On the yellow shore!

XII.

When I raised in sorrow
My fearful face,
The Midian-Mara
Was fled from me;
Without repining
I left the place,
As the Moon rose shining
Beyond the sea.
And my feet went faster
To see her light,
For I feared disaster
If I stayed that night ...
When God took pity,
And brought me bread,
I forgot that City
Of the drownid dead.