Poem: The Coast of Lima
The Pacific hid in the mist and cloud,
While the waves from rock to rock,
Pounded and overflew with a brutal passion.
The dark, barren shorelines bore its recession,
While from the cliff, the noon lingered on,
And endless winds rushed along.
The man-made city, tall above the sea,
Dreary at the end of day,
The lighted cross shone from the bay.
Dreary and grey may I see,
Endless and glorious did I feel—
Man watches the sea, the immortal force,
And watches himself to learn death.