From my window I can see,
Where the sandhills dip,
One far glimpse of open sea.
Just a slender slip
Curving like a crescent moon—
Yet a greater prize
Than the harbour garden-fair
Spread beneath my eyes.
Just below me swings the bay,
Sings a sunny tune,
But my heart is far away
Out beyond the dune;
Clearer far the sea-gulls’ cry
And the breakers’ roar,
Than the little waves beneath
Lapping on the shore.
For that strip of sapphire sea
Set against the sky
Far horizons means to me—
And the ships go by
Framed between the empty sky
And the yellow sands,
While my freed thoughts follow them
Out to other lands.
All its changes who can tell?
I have seen it shine
Like a jewel polished well,
Hard and clear and fine;
Then soft lilac—and again
On another day
Glimpsed it through a veil of rain,
Shifting, drifting grey.
When the livid waters flee,
Flinching from the storm,
From my window I can see,
Standing safe and warm,
How the white foam tosses high
On the naked shore,
And the breakers’ thunder grows
To a battle-roar…
Far and far I look—Ten miles?
No, for yesterday
Sure I saw the Blessed Isles
Twenty worlds away.
My blue moon of open sea,
Is it little worth?
At the least it gives to me
Keys of all the earth
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From guest Nic (contact)
Could this poem reflect on Dorothea's love life? its says "But my heart is far away / Out beyond the dune;" Could this refer to her heart wanting to be with her loved one? Could "open sea" suggest a vast emptiness in the heart or soul of the writer possibly due to losing a loved one and maybe she relates this to an open sea that is never ending and seemingly impossible to cross? Sure this poem talks about the beach and the beautiful ocean, but is that what it's really about? Look deeper. -
What a lovely poem! I particularly liked " How the white foam tosses high / On the naked shore." I love the part about the Blessed Isles.
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A full bodied piece reflective in the appearance of a natural sea scape vision combined with the poets wistful imaginings of senerios.Well worth reading.
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Not only is this poem a compliment to the sea, it also reflects the narrators life.
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This is a beautiful poem. I have grownup with a beachy,surfy culture all my life and think this poem describes the ocean perfectly.
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