Skip to content
1865–1914

BY THE SUMMER SEA

Madison Julius Cawein

Sunlight and shrill cicada and the low, Slow, sleepy kissing of the sea and shore, And rumor of the wind. The morning wore A sullen face of fog that lifted slow,

Letting her eyes gleam through of grayest glow; Wearing a look like that which once she wore When, Gloucesterward from Dogtown there, they bore Some old witchwife with many a gibe and blow.

But now the day has put off every care, And sits at peace beside the smiling sea, Dreaming bright dreams with lazy-lidded eyes: One is a castle, precipiced in air,

And one a golden galleon — can it be ‘ Tis but the cloudworld of the sunset skies?

Cookies on Poetry Cove

We use cookies to remember your language preference and — only with your consent — to learn how Poetry Cove is used. You can change your mind any time.