Dawnlight On The Sea

When I kneel down the dawn is only breaking;

Sleep fetters still the brown wings of the lark;

The wind blows pure and cool, for day is waking,

But stars are scattered still about the dark.

With open lattice, looking out and praying,

Ere yet the toil and trouble must be faced,

I see a silvery glimmer straying, straying,

To where the faint grey sky-line can be traced:

I see it slowly deepen, broaden, brighten,

With soft snow-fringes sweeping to the land;

The sheeny distance clear, and gleam, and whiten;

The cool cliff-shadows sharpen on the sand.

Some other sea the sunlight is adorning,

But mine is fair ‘neath waning stars and moon.

O friendly face!-O smile that comes at morning,

To shine through all the frowns that come at noon!

A beautiful wet opal-pale tints filling

A thousand shifting shallows-day at length.

The sweet, salt breeze, like richest wine, is thrilling

My drowsy heart and brain with life and strength.

I hear the voice of waters-strong waves dashing

Their white crests on the brown weed-sprinkled sod;

I hear the soft, continuous, measured plashing-

The pulse that vibrates from the heart of God,-

The long wash of the tide upon the shingle,

The rippling ebb of breakers on the shore,

Wherewith my prayers are fain to blend and mingle-

Whereto I set my dreams for evermore.

I hear the lap and swirl, I hear the thunder

In the dark grotto where the children play,-

Where walls to keep the sea and cave asunder,

And frail shell towers, were reared but yesterday.

The flood has filled my soul, and it is sweeping

My foolish stones and pebbles out to sea,

And floating in strange riches for my keeping,-

O friend! O God! I owe my best to Thee.

The best of every day, its peace and beauty,

From Thy mysterious treasure-house is drawn;

Thou teachest me the grace of life and duty,

When we two walk together in the dawn.

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External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Talking Writing Monster’s Page –

Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• Harrow-on-the-Hill poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Guilt poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Felixstowe, or The Last of Her Order poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Executive poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Dilton Marsh Halt poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Diary of a Church Mouse poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Devonshire Street W.1 poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Death In Leamington poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Dawlish poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Cornish Cliffs poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Christmas poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Business Girls poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Back From Australia poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• An Edwardian Sunday, Broomhill, Sheffield poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• A Subaltern’s Love Song poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• A Shropshire Lad poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• A Bay In Anglesey poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry by John Betjeman
• Free the Holy Land — a poem about Palestine by Fledermaus
• Sepukku by Ураний
• Did Shakespeare write his own plays and poems? by Fledermaus

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

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