Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
VII. The SeaGulf-Weed
Cornelius George Fenner (18221847)A
Drearily drenched in the ocean brine,
Soaring high and sinking low,
Lashed along without will of mine;
Sport of the spume of the surging sea;
Flung on the foam, afar and anear,
Mark my manifold mystery,—
Growth and grace in their place appear.
Rootless and rover though I be;
My spangled leaves, when nicely spread,
Arboresce as a trunkless tree;
Corals curious coat me o’er,
White and hard in apt array;
Mid the wild waves’ rude uproar
Gracefully grow I, night and day.
Something whispers soft to me,
Restless and roaming forevermore,
Like this weary weed of the sea;
Bear they yet on each beating breast
The eternal type of the wondrous whole,
Growth unfolding amidst unrest,
Grace informing with silent soul.