Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry.
Volume V. Nature. 1904. | | | | VII. The Sea | | The Sea Shell | | William Wordsworth (1770–1850) |
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I HAVE seen | |
| A curious child, who dwelt upon a tract | |
| Of inland ground, applying to his ear | |
| The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell; | |
| To which, in silence hushed, his very soul | 5 |
| Listened intensely; and his countenance soon | |
| Brightened with joy; for from within were heard | |
| Murmurings, whereby the monitor expressed | |
| Mysterious union with its native sea. | |
| Even such a shell the universe itself | 10 |
| Is to the ear of Faith; and there are times, | |
| I doubt not, when to you it doth impart | |
| Authentic tidings of invisible things; | |
| Of ebb and flow, and ever-during power; | |
| And central peace, subsisting at the heart | 15 |
| Of endless agitation. | | | | |
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