O Cape of Storms! although thy front be dark,
And bleak thy naked cliffs and cheerless vales,
And perilous thy fierce and faithless gales
To stanchest mariner and stoutest bark;
And though along thy coasts with grief I mark
The servile and the slave, and him who wails
An exile's lot — and blush to hear thy tales
Of sin and sorrow and oppression stark:—
Yet, spite of physical and moral ill,
And after all I've seen and suffered here,
There are strong links that bind me to thee still,
And render even thy rocks and deserts dear;
Here dwell kind hearts which time nor place can chill—
Loved Kindred and congenial Friends sincere.
1825
There are a number of poems about the dramatic Cape of Storms. It is the rocky South-Eastern tip of South Africa, at the end of the Cape Peninsula, jutting south of Cape Town. It is also known as the Cape of Good Hope.
The Cape of Good Hope seen from Cape Point on the West side of the Peninsula