The Sea Crouched at the edge of Land, I felt The wistful whisper of the Sea; For out beyond the surging sand A power I sought, spoke unto me.

Which swells and heaves from unknown deeps, While time and tides proceed and hum; With gilded waves and falling sleeps, That break upon the shores—they come.

They roll above the rocks and fret Each soul with winds and sounds divine; And who makes still my heart beget The voices of the endless brine?

For every day shall fall its yield, And conquer not the deep of Fate, Where golden dreams my spirit wield, The Sea’s allure, before the gate.

• Alfred Lord Tennyson