| |
| OH, ye wild waves, shoreward dashing, | |
| What is your tale to-day? | |
| O’er the rocks your white foam splashing, | |
| While the moaning wind your spray | |
| Whirls heavenwards away | 5 |
| In the mist? | |
| Have ye heard the timbers crashing | |
| Of the good ship out at sea? | |
| Seen the masts the dank ropes lashing, | |
| While the sailors bend the knee, | 10 |
| And vainly call on Heaven | |
| To assist? | |
| |
| Oh, ay! we ’ve seen and heard— | |
| Oh, ay! we ’ve heard and seen | |
| More than ever you could gather— | 15 |
| More than ever you could glean | |
| From our tale. | |
| We have seen, and heard, and laughed, | |
| As we tossed the shattered craft, | |
| While those on board, aghast, | 20 |
| Every moment thought their last, | |
| In the gale. | |
| |
| We tossed them like a plaything, | |
| And rent their riven sail; | |
| And we laughed our loud Ha! ha! | 25 |
| With the demons of the gale | |
| In their ears. | |
| We have laughed, and heard, and seen, | |
| In the lightning’s lurid sheen, | |
| And the growling thunder’s blast; | 30 |
| And we drowned them all at last | |
| For their fears. | |
| |
| There were mothers there on board | |
| With their little ones in arms; | |
| There were maidens there on board | 35 |
| More lovely in their charms | |
| Than the day; | |
| And again we heard, and laughed | |
| As we dashed across the craft; | |
| While our master shrieked and roared, | 40 |
| As we swept them overboard, | |
| And away. | |
| |
| And they battled all in vain, | |
| With their puny human strength. | |
| In our grasp they were as nothing; | 45 |
| Down, down, they sank at length | |
| In the sea; | |
| And still again we screamed, | |
| As the lurid flashes gleamed, | |
| And o’er their heads we swept, | 50 |
| And for joy we danced and leapt | |
| In our glee. | |
| |
| This, this, now is the tale | |
| We have to tell to-day, | |
| And now to you we ’ve sung it | 55 |
| In our merry, mocking way. | |
| Do you hear? | |
| How our havoc we have wrought, | |
| And to destruction brought | |
| The treasures of the Earth, | 60 |
| Held by man in price, and worth, | |
| Very dear? | |
| |
| Oh! ye cruel waves up-dashing, | |
| Why rejoice you so to-day? | |
| As shoreward ye come crashing | 65 |
| From your cruel, cruel play; | |
| Why fling ye up your spray | |
| On the shore? | |
| The sand your salt spume splashing, | |
| As ye frolic in your glee; | 70 |
| As the iron rocks ye ’re lashing, | |
| Ye scourges of the sea,— | |
| Will ye never then be glutted | |
| Any more? | |
| |
