A cliff uptowering, black as night,
A bay that lies in mystery--
O'ershadowed in the moon's full light--
Lo! such a "pali" well might be
The path of gods who sought the sea,
Arriving, flower-crowned, drenched with dew,
Where godlike music endlessly
The breakers boom, and boom anew.
And such brown gods, so flower bedight,
So mountain-footed, happily
Might wander, using touch for sight,
'Mid rocks and sea spray, fearlessly
In any midnight wander, free
To hear, in this seagirt purlieu,
Their pæan, mortal threnody
The breakers boom, and boom anew.
Who thinks the gods have vanished quite,
While sweet-breathed lilies brush the knee,
Beside the cascade foaming white,
While blows the trade wind tirelessly
Through groves of curly-coa tree,
Or where, beneath the midnight blue,
With mighty, reckless, crashing glee
The breakers boom, and boom anew?
ENVOY
Princess! the answer lies with thee,
Say thou if the old gods be true;
Hark first the ocean's endless plea,
The breakers boom, and boom anew.