Poems (Acton)/The Sea King

THE SEA KING. ——

The Sea King am I,
 On my shining crystal throne;
From the ocean to the sky,
 All that greets me is my own.

The ships that o'er me sweep,
 In their stateliness rejoice:
But they tremble in the deep,
 When they hear my mighty voice.

I wave my trident proud,
 And the storms their wings unfold;
And the waters make a shroud
 For the reckless sailor bold.

The masts are rent in twain,
 Pale death the billow crowns;
And the help of man is vain
 When the dreaded Sea King frowns.

Rich pearl and costly gem
 At my feet unheeded lie;
And my jewelled diadem
 Would a mighty kingdom buy.

And my treasures laugh to scorn
 All that's fair the earth can shew;
For a thousand storms have borne
 Countless riches down below.

Give place, ye earth-born kings,
 To my firm and lasting sway;
For your crowns are fading things,
 And your sceptres pass away:

But the golden sun has shone
 Many ages o'er my head;
And still I reign alone,
 In my ocean kingdom dread.

Youth and beauty, strength and pride,
 Palsied age, and childhood sleep,
Cold and silent, side by side,
 In my hidden caverns deep.

The rushing ocean foam
 Has sighed their passing knell;
For the secrets of my home
 Mortal lips may never tell.

Then quail, ye things of earth,
 When I send my tempest forth!
And tremble in your mirth,
 When ye hear my stormy wrath!

For the sun's resplendent light
 In the heavens shall be o'er,
And the starry orbs of night
 From on high shall shine no more;

And a chaos once again
 Must your world of beauty be,
Ere the Sea King cease to reign
 In his ocean-kingdom free!
H. A.