In the long shimmer of the Sound
May I some day be laughing found,
Part of its restless to and fro,
A humble worker of the tides
That round the sleepless planet flow,
And in the rock and drift of things--
_(O how the sea-weed sways and swings!
Is it her hair--has she been found
In the long shimmer of the Sound!)_
Do some small task I do not know--
O maybe help the mussel grow,
Or tint the shell-imprisoned pearl--
A mute companion of the waves
That toss within their moonlit graves--
Is it a king, or but a girl?
And, all the while, she sings and sings,
And waves her wild white hands with glee,
Mysterious sister of the world,
That singing water called the sea.
(_O tell me was this sea-weed found
In the long shimmer of the Sound!_)