Epes Sargent - Rockall lyrics

Pale ocean rock! that, like a phantom shape, Or some mysterious spirit's tenement, Risest amid this weltering waste of waves, Lonely and desolate, thy spreading base Is planted in the sea's unmeasured depths, Where rolls the huge leviathan o'er sands Glistening with shipwrecked treasures. The strong wind Flings up thy sides a veil of feathery spray With sunbeams interwoven, and the hues Which mingle in the rainbow. From thy top The sea-birds rise, and sweep with sidelong flight Downward upon their prey; or, with poised wings, Skim to the horizon o'er the glittering deep. Our bark, careening to the welcome breeze, With white sails filled and streamers all afloat, Shakes from her dripping prow the foam, while we Gaze on thy outline mingling in the void, And draw our breath like men who see, amazed, Some mighty pageant pa**ing. What had been Our fate last night, if, when the aspiring waves Were toppling o'er our mainmast, and the stars Were shrouded in black vapors, we had struck Full on thy sea-bound pinnacles, Rockall! But now another prospect greets our sight, And hope elate is rising with our hearts: Intensely blue, the sky's resplendent arch Bends over all serenely; not a cloud Mars its pure radiance; not a shadow dims The flashing billows. The refreshing air It is a luxury to feel and breathe; The senses are made keener, and drink in The life, the joy, the beauty of the scene. Repeller of the wild and thundering surge! For ages has the baffled tempest howled By thee with all its fury, and piled up The ma**ive waters like a falling tower To dash thee down; but there thou risest yet, As calm amid the roar of storms, the shock Of waves uptorn, and hurled against thy front, As when, on summer eves, the crimsoned main In lingering undulations, girds thee round! O, might I stand as steadfast and as free 'Mid the fierce strife and tumult of the world, The crush of all the elements of woe,-- Unshaken by their terrors, looking forth With placid eye on life's uncertain sea, Whether its waves were darkly swelling high Or dancing in the sunshine,--then might frown The clouds of fate around me! Firm in faith, Pointing serenely to that better world, Where there is peace, would I abide the storm, Unmindful of its rage and of its end.