Page:Poems Howard.djvu/113

Or, from their hidden, watery cells
In myriad rainbow-colored shells,
Nereides, with dripping locks,
Might grace the rough, Neptunian rocks,

Defying, in their revelry,
That ancient monarch of the sea,
Whose trident marks his lordly reign
O'er every creature of the main.

I watched the countless-dimpled smile
Illuminate thy waters, while
The wish, unconscious, half-expressed,
That I might find therein sweet rest.

I'd just as soon, beneath the wave
Return my life to Him who gave,
Or let my bones forever bleach
Upon the sands of Crescent Beach.

Throughout the years, each breaking wave
Should be a tear-drop o'er my grave,
And every scintillating gem
Unite to sing my requiem.

Of Him who taught beside the sea
Of ever-blessed Galilee,
His true disciples meet to teach
Beside the waves at Crescent Beach.