| Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891. | | | | The Sea Gull | | By Eliza Allen Starr (1824–1901) |
| | | BIRD of the sea! where mighty frigates drown | |
| Nor leave a ripple, are thy pastimes made. | |
| Grave sports in vast aerial circles played | |
| From wave to cloud, from cloud to wave. No frown | |
| On sea or sky appalls thee; and the down | 5 |
| On thy white breast shows glistering, in the shade | |
| Of gathering tempests. There, with motion staid, | |
| I see thee, where the mid-sea surges crown | |
| The rocking billows of the awful deep, | |
| Cradled as peacefully as if asleep. | 10 |
| Which, seeing, though with cheek, blanched, cold with fear, | |
| Sudden within me Hope’s chilled pulses leap, | |
| Since He who fashioned thee with purpose clear, | |
| Our drifting ship, storm-tossed, can safe to harbor steer. | | | | |
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