The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar/The Mystic Sea

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

THE MYSTIC SEA

The smell of the sea in my nostrils,
  The sound of the sea in mine ears;
The touch of the spray on my burning face,
  Like the mist of reluctant tears.

The blue of the sky above me,
  The green of the waves beneath;
The sun flashing down on a gray-white sail
  Like a scimitar from its sheath.

And ever the breaking billows,
  And ever the rocks' disdain;
And ever a thrill in mine inmost heart
  That my reason cannot explain.

So I say to my heart, "Be silent,
  The mystery of time is here;
Death's way will be plain when we fathom the main,
  And the secret of life be clear."