The Sound of the Sea

The sea awoke at midnight from its sleep,
And round the pebbly beaches far and wide
I heard the first wave of the rising tide
Rush onward with uninterrupted sweep;
A voice out of the silence of the deep,
A sound mysteriously multiplied
As of a cataract from the mountain's side,
Or roar of winds upon a wooded steep.
So comes to us at times, from the unknown
And inaccessible solitudes of being,
The rushing of the sea-tides of the soul;
And inspirations, that we deem our own,
Are some divine of foreshadowing and foreseeing
Of things beyond our reason or control.

About Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride" and "The Song of Hiawatha." One of the most popular American poets of the 19th century.

More poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

View all Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poems →

More Nature & Seasons poems

View all Nature & Seasons poems →