SUNDAY POETRY: "AN OCEAN MUSING"

(Oil seeps and spills in the Gulf of Mexico, May 13, 2006. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained from the Goddard Level 1 and Atmospheric Archive and Distribution System.) 

AN OCEAN MUSING

by Henrietta Cordelia Ray

Far, far out lie the white sails all at rest;

Like spectral arms they seem to touch and cling

Unto the wide horizon. Not a wing

Of truant bird glides down the purpling west;

No breeze dares to intrude, e’en on a quest

To fan a lover’s brow; the waves to sing

Have quite forgotten till the deep shall fling

A bow across its vibrant chords. Then, lest

One moment of the sea’s repose we lose,

Nor furnish Fancy with a thousand themes

Of unimagined sweetness, let us gaze

On this serenity, for as we muse,

Lo! all is restless motion: life’s best dreams

Give changing moods to even halcyon days.