Page:Andromeda, and other poems - Kingsley (1858).djvu/163

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PALINODIA.
151
Thou sea, who wast to me a prophet deepThrough all thy restless waves, and wasting shores,Of silent labour, and eternal change;First teacher of the dense immensityOf ever-stirring life, in thy strange formsOf fish, and shell, and worm, and oozy weed:To me alike thy frenzy and thy sleepHave been a deep and breathless joy: Oh hear!
Mountains, and winds, and waves, take back your child!Upon thy balmy bosom, Mother Nature,Where my young spirit dreamt its years away,Give me once more to nestle: I have strayedFar through another world, which is not thine.Through sunless cities, and the weary hauntsOf smoke-grimed labour, and foul revelryMy flagging wing has swept. A mateless bird'sMy pilgrimage has been; through sin, and doubt,And darkness, seeking love. Oh hear me, Nature!Receive me once again: but not alone;
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