The Secret of the Sea

Ah! what pleasant visions haunt me
As I gaze upon the sea!
All the old romantic legends
All my dreams, come back to me

Sails of silk and ropes of sandal
Such as gleam in ancient lore;
And the singing of the sailors
And the answer from the shore!

Most of all, the Spanish ballad
Haunts me oft, and tarries long
Of the noble Count Arnaldos
And the sailor's mystic song

Like the long waves on a sea-beach
Where the sand as silver shines
With a soft, monotonous cadence
Flow its unrhymed lyric lines; --

Telling how the Count Arnaldos
With his hawk upon his hand
Saw a fair and stately galley
Steering onward to the land; --

How he heard the ancient helmsman
Chant a song so wild and clear
That the sailing sea-bird slowly
Poised upon the mast to hear

Till his soul was full of longing
And he cried, with impulse strong, --
"Helmsman! for the love of heaven
Teach me, too, that wondrous song!"

"Wouldst thou," -- so the helmsman answered
"Learn the secret of the sea?
Only those who brave its dangers
Comprehend its mystery!"

In each sail that skims the horizon
In each landward-blowing breeze
I behold that stately galley
Hear those mournful melodies;

Till my soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me