So through the |long long |hours the |maid stood |helpless and |hopeless,
Wide-eyed, |downward |gazing in |vain at the |black blank |darkness.

Feebly at |last she be|gan, while |wild thoughts |bubbled with|in her—
‘Guiltless I |am: why |thus then? Are |gods more |ruthless than |mortals?
Have they no |mercy for |youth? no |love for the |souls who have |loved them?

Even as |I loved |thee, dread |sea, as I |played by thy |margin,
Blessing thy |wave as it |cooled me, thy |wind as it |breathed on my |forehead,
Bowing my |head to thy |tempest, and |opening my |heart to thy |children,
Silvery |fish, wreathed |shell, and the |strange lithe |things of the |water,
Tenderly |casting them |back, as they |gasped on the |beach in the |sunshine,
Home to their |mother—in |vain! for |mine sits |childless in |anguish!

Oh dread |sea! false |sea! I |dreamed what I |dreamed of thy |goodness;
Dreamed of a |smile in thy |gleam, of a |laugh in the |plash of thy |ripple:
False and de|vouring thou |art, and the |great world |dark and de|spiteful.’

Awed by her |own rash |words she was |still: and her |eyes to the |seaward
Looked for an |answer of |wrath: far |off, in the |heart of the |darkness,
Bright white |mists rose |slowly; be|neath them the |wandering |ocean
Glimmered and |glowed to the |deepest a|byss; and the |knees of the |maiden
Trembled and |sank in her |fear, as a|far, like a |dawn in the |midnight,
Rose from their |seaweed |chamber the |choir of the |mystical |sea-maids.

Onward to|ward her they |came, and her |heart beat |loud at their |coming,
Watching the |bliss of the |gods, as they |wakened the |cliffs with their |laughter.

Onward they |came in their |joy, and be|fore them the |roll of the |surges
Sank, as the |breeze sank |dead, into |smooth green |foam- flecked |marble,
Awed; and the |crags of the |cliff, and the |pines of the |mountain were |silent.
Onward they |came in their |joy, and a|round them the |lamps of the |sea nymphs,
Myriad |fiery |globes, swam |panting and |heaving; and |rainbows
Crimson and |azure and |emerald, were |broken in |star-showers, |lighting
Far through the |wine-dark |depths of the |crystal, the |gardens of |Nereus,
Coral and |sea-fan and |tangle, the |blooms and the |palms of the |ocean

Onward they |came in their |joy, more |white than the |foam which they |scattered,
Laughing and |singing, and |tossing and |twining, while |eager, the |Tritons
Blinded with |kisses their |eyes, unre|proved, and a|bove them in |worship
Hovered the |terns, and the sea|gulls swept |past them on |silvery |pinions
Echoing |softly their |laughter; a|round them the |wan-toning |dolphins
Sighed as they |plunged, full of |love; and the |great sea|horses which |bore them
Curved up their |crests in their |pride to the |delicate |arms of the |maidens,
Pawing the |spray into |gems, till a |fiery |rainfall, un|harming,
Sparkled and |gleamed on the |limbs of the |nymphs, and the |coils of the |mermen.

Onward they |went in their |joy, bathed |round with the |fiery |coolness,
Needing nor |sun nor |moon, self-|lighted, im|mortal: but |others,
Pitiful, |floated in |silence a|part; in their |bosoms the |sea- boys,
Slain by the |wrath of the |seas, swept |down by the |anger of |Nereus; c
Hapless, whom |never a|gain on |strand or on |quay shall their |mothers
Welcome with |garlands and |vows to the |temple, but |wearily |pining
Gaze over |island and |bay for the |sails of the |sunken; they |heedless
Sleep in soft |bosoms for |ever, and |dream of the |surge and the |sea-maids.

Onward they |past in their |joy; on their |brows neither |sorrow nor |anger;
Self-suf|ficing, as |gods, never |heeding the |woe of the |maiden.

She would have |shrieked for their |mercy: but |shame made her |dumb; and their |eyeballs
Stared on her |careless and |still, like the |eyes in the |house of the |idols.

Seeing they |saw not, and |passed, like a |dream, on the |murmuring |ripple.
Stunned by the |wonder she |gazed, wide-|eyed, as the |glory de|parted.

‘Oh fair |shapes! far |fairer than |I! Too |fair to be |ruthless!
Gladden mine |eyes once |more with your |splendor, un|like to my |fancies;
You, then, |smiled in the |sea-gleam, and |laughed in the |plash of the |ripple.
Awful I |deemed you and |formless; in|human, |monstrous as |idols;

Lo, when ye |came, ye were |women, more |loving and |lovelier, |only;
Like in all |else; and I |blest you: why |blest ye not |me for my |worship?
Had you no |mercy for |me, the |guiltless? Ye |pitied the |sea-boys,
Why not |me, then, more |hapless by |far? Does your |sight and your |knowledge
End with the |marge of the |waves? Is the |world which ye |dwell in not |our world?’