Rockall

Pale ocean rock! that, like a phantom shape,Or some mysterious spirit's tenement,Risest amid this weltering waste of waves,Lonely and desolate, thy spreading baseIs planted in the sea's unmeasured depths,Where rolls the huge leviathan o'er sandsGlistening with shipwrecked treasures. The strong windFlings up thy sides a veil of feathery sprayWith sunbeams interwoven, and the huesWhich mingle in the rainbow. From thy topThe sea-birds rise, and sweep with sidelong flightDownward upon their prey; or, with poised wings,Skim to the horizon o'er the glittering deep. Our bark, careening to the welcome breeze,With white sails filled and streamers all afloat,Shakes from her dipping prow the foam, while weGaze on thy outline mingling in the void,And draw our breath like men who see, amazed,Some mighty pageant passing. What had beenOur fate last night, if, when the aspiring wavesWere toppling o'er our mainmast, and the starsWere shrouded in black vapors, we had struckFull on thy sea-bound pinnacles, Rockall! But now another prospect greets our sight,And hope elate is rising with our hearts:Intensely blue, the sky's resplendent archBends over all serenely; not a cloudMars its pure radiance; not a shadow dimsThe flashing billows. The refreshing airIt is a luxury to feel and breathe;The senses are made keener, and drink inThe life, the joy, the beauty of the scene. Repeller of the wild and thundering surge!For ages has the baffled tempest howledBy thee with all its fury, and piled upThe massive waters like a falling towerTo dash thee down; but there thou risest yet,As calm amid the roar of storms, the shockOf waves uptorn, and hurled against thy front,As when, on summer eves, the crimsoned main,In lingering undulations, girds thee round! O, might I stand as steadfast and as free'Mid the fierce strife and tumult of the world,The crush of all the elements of woe, --Unshaken by their terrors, looking forthWith placid eye on life's uncertain sea,Whether its waves were darkly swelling highOr dancing in the sunshine, -- then might frownThe clouds of fate around me! Firm in faith,Pointing serenely to that better world,Where there is peace, would I abide the storm,Unmindful of its rage and of its end.