The Sea, the Sea

The sea, the sea! through the green meadows,
The sea within the sea, the sea with the bulrushes!
The sea with the willow trees;
The sea within the sea with the blossoms
Of thorns— roses that bend and fall;
And those from the reeds, The strong reeds from the shore,
Where the shallows are, where the boughs bend,
Chorus among the sea grass,
While I am lying down,
A child in the water,
All alone with my heart;
What is there, what is there
But the air and the sea,
And all that is here?

Her sand, her white sand,
Her gold, and her mountains
And the deep within,
An unbroken whisper - I must flee the shore.

But not the sea, not the sea!
The rolling blue, rolling,
The wave that is here,
The rock of a mortal,
The sea, the hollow drum,
The celebrating jerk of laughter,
When the wind is in the trees!
Oh rolling sea, let her pass.

Anne’s twice, within her arms,
In seizing the blue.

• Hilda Doolittle HD

• Hilda Doolittle HD