In the long shimmer of the Sound
May I some day be laughing found,
Part of its restless to and fro,
A humble worker of the tides
That round the sleepless planet flow,
And in the rock and drift of things-
(O how the sea-weed sways and swings!
Is it her hair-has she been found
In the long shimmer of the Sound!)
Do some small task I do not know-
O maybe help the mussel grow,
Or tint the shell-imprisoned pearl-

A mute companion of the waves
That toss within their moonlit graves-
Is it a king, or but a girl?

And, all the while, she sings and sings,
And waves her wild white hands with glee,
Mysterious sister of the world,
That singing water called the sea.

(
O tell me was this sea-weed found
In the long shimmer of the Sound!
)