Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.
Austin Dobson 18401921O Navis
Dobson-AS
What dost thou?—O, once more
Regain the port. Behold!
Thy sides are bare of oar,
Thy tall mast wounded sore
Of Africus, and see,
What shall thy spars restore!—
Tempt not thy tyrant sea!
When all drag out from shore!
What god canst thou, too bold,
In time of need implore!
Look! for thy sails flap o’er,
Thy stiff shrouds part and flee,
Fast—fast thy seams outpour,—
Tempt not the tyrant sea!
The pines of Pontus bore!
Not now to stern of gold
Men trust, or painted prore!
Thou, or thou count’st it store
A toy of winds to be,
Shun thou the Cyclads’ roar,—
Tempt not the tyrant sea!
Ship of the State, before
A care, and now to me
A hope in my heart’s core,—
Tempt not the tyrant sea!