In the long shimmer of the Sound
May I some day be laughing found,
Part of its restless to and fro,
A humble worker of the tides
That round the sleepless planet flow,
And in the rock and drift of things -
(O how the sea-weed sways and swings!
Is it her hair - has she been found
In the long shimmer of the Sound!)
Do some small task I do not know -
O maybe help the mussel grow,
Or tint the shell-imprisoned pearl -
A mute companion of the waves
That toss within their moonlit graves -
Is it a king, or but a girl?
And, all the while, she sings and sings,
And waves her wild white hands with glee,
Mysterious sister of the world,
That singing water called the sea.
(O tell me was this sea-weed found
In the long shimmer of the Sound!)