POEM
Milton
I pace the sounding sea-beach and behold
How the voluminous billows roll and run,
Upheaving and subsiding, while the sun
Shines through their sheeted emerald far unrolled,
And the ninth wave, slow gathering fold by fold
All its loose-flowing garments into one,
Plunges upon the shore, and floods the dun
Pale reach of sands, and changes them to gold.
So in majestic cadence rise and fall
The mighty undulations of thy song,
O sightless bard, England's Mæonides!
And ever and anon, high over all
Uplifted, a ninth wave superb and strong,
Floods all the soul with its melodious seas.
By far the most widely known and best-loved American poet of his time, Henry Wadsworth . . . MORE »
More Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Landlord's Tale. Paul Revere's Ride
Ultima Thule: Dedication to G. W. G.
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