Cast on the water by a careless hand, Day after day the winds persuaded me: Onward I drifted till a coral tree Stayed me among its branches, where the sand Gathered about me, and I slowly grew, Fed by the constant sun and the inconstant dew. The sea-birds build their nests against my root, And eye my slender body’s horny case. Widowed within this solitary place Into the thankless sea I cast my fruit; Joyless I thrive, for no man may partake Of all the store I bear and harvest for his sake. No more I heed the kisses of the morn; The harsh winds rob me of the life they gave; I watch my tattered shadow in the wave, And hourly droop and nod my crest forlorn, While all my fibres stiffen and grow numb Beckoning the tardy ships, the ships that never come!
The Cocoa-Tree
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Cast on the water by a careless hand, Day after day the winds persuaded me: Onward I drifted till a coral tree Stayed me among its branches, where the sand Gathered about me, and I slowly grew, Fed by the constant sun and the inconstant dew. The sea-birds build their nests against my... |
Time cannot age thy sinews, nor the gale Batter the network of thy feathered mail, Lone sentry of the deep! Among the crashing caverns of the storm, With wing unfettered, lo! thy frigid form Is whirled in dreamless sleep! Where shall thy wing find rest for all its might? Where shall thy... |
o, when I hear at sea The water on our lee, I fancy that I hear the wind That combs my hemlock tree: But when beneath that tree I listen eagerly, I seem to hear the rushing wave I heard far out at sea. |
Wherefore these revels that my dull eyes greet? These dancers, dancing at my fleshless feet; The harpers, harping vainly at my ears Deaf to the world, lo, thrice a thousand years! Time was when even I was blithe: I knew The murmur of the flowing wave, where grew The lean, lithe rushes; I have... |