Poem by Mathilde Blind

Cleave Thou the Waves

Cleave thou the waves that weltering to and fro
Surge multitudinous. The eternal Powers
Of sun, moon, stars, the air, the hurrying hours,
The winged winds, the still dissolving show
Of clouds in calm or storm, for ever flow
Above thee; while the abysmal sea devours
The untold dead insatiate, where it lowers
O'er glooms unfathomed, limitless, below.

No longer on the golden-fretted sands,
Where many a shallow tide abortive chafes,
Mayst thou delay; life onward sweeping blends
With far-off heaven: the dauntless one who braves
The perilous flood with calm unswerving hands,
The elements sustain: cleave thou the waves.

1. The Red Sunsets, 1883 (The twilight heavens are flushed with gathering light)
2. The Music-Lesson
3. The Passing Year
4. Manchester by Night
5. Song (Thou walkest with me as the spirit-light)

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