Classic Poem

Upon a naked islet in the sea—
To me a shoreless sea—
I stand and watch the waves roll on the sands,
For some chance waif adrift from other lands
Below the sloping sky.

The jealous sea derides me with its voice—
Its secret, sneering voice;
In vain I seek along the barren shore
The frailest boat, or plank, or splintered oar,
To brave its tyrant might.

Fast on this little birthright of my race—
Ah me! a short-lived race!
Is it decreed that I shall never see
What lies beyond my narrow boundary,
Before God bids me die?

The day holds fast its secret from my quest—
My restless, burning quest;
The dusk, mysterious dawn broods on the sea;
The sun wheels up in flaming majesty,
And blinds my shrinking sight.

With gaze upstrained I haunt the depth of stars—
The mute, impassive stars;
And like a hot young neophyte, I try
To penetrate with my bewildered eye
The Isis veil of night.

Lost and amazed, in deepest gloom I grope—
With outstretched hands I grope—
Around the circle of a single day;
The infinite of years yawns in my way,
And swallows up my cry.