Helen M. Merrill (1866–1951)

WHERE no land lies,

Far out under the cloudy skies,

Alone, adrift,

A gleam of blue in a quiet rift,

The monotonous flow

Of waves which gather, and come, and go

On for ever.

Where no land lies,

Far off, a lonely sea-gull cries,

And clouds come down

On my hair all flowing, and cool, and brown,

And in my face

The slanting rain-drops drive apace,

Ever and ever.

Where no land lies,

And only the screaming sea-gull flies,

Alone, all day,

The dull sea waste is my chosen way;

In wind and rain

I dream mine olden dreams again,

Ever a part

Of the wilding sea’s lone, passionate heart;

In rain and wind

An idle ecstasy I find,

Where only the lonely sea-gull cries,

Where no land lies.