(Approaching Thunderstorm near Bristol, Narragansett
Bay, R.I., 1859 by Martin Johnson Heade, 1819-1904,
American painter)
“Until I saw the sea / I did not know / a sea breathes in and out / upon a shore,” wrote the poet Lillian Moore (1909-2004).
THE SOUND OF THE SEA
The sea awoke at midnight from its sleep,
And round the pebbly beaches far and wide
I heard the first wave of the rising tide
Rush onward with uninterrupted sweep;
A voice out of the silence of the deep,
A sound mysteriously multiplied
As of a cataract from the mountain's side,
Or roar of winds upon a wooded steep.
So comes to us at times, from the unknown
And inaccessible solitudes of being,
The rushing of the sea-tides of the soul:
And inspirations that we deem our own,
Are some divine foreshadowing and foreseeing
Of things beyond our reason or control.
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), American poet
I truly enjoyed this poem entitled, "The Sound Of The Sea." I grew up on the Connecticut shoreline and currently live on the shores of Southern Massachusetts. For those of us who have spent time by the ocean, you can place yourself on the beach, via the description of the poem: A sound mysteriously multiplied
ReplyDeleteAs of a cataract from the mountain's side,
Or roar of winds upon a wooded steep. The ocean has always been a place of solace for me. It reminds us that life is every changing, yet always constant in it's entity. I can relate to the analogy of The rushing of the sea-tides of the soul, "And inspirations that we deem our own, Are some divine foreshadowing and foreseeing Of things beyond our reason or control. These stanza's really spoke to me, noting that while the soul and our life has inspirations, there are many things that are out of our control.
Regards,
Peg D.