The Siren's Song
By George Sterling
From "Duandon" Far down, where virgin silence reigns, In jasper evenings of the sea, I toss my pearls, I wait for thee. The sea hath lent me all its stains: It is hut treasure-house of me. The corals of the sea have caught A Titan shell whose fragile dome Is crimson o'er mine ocean home, Mine opal chambers subtly wrought In semblance of the shaken foam. Oh! come! and thou shalt dream with me By violet foam at twilight tost On strands of ocean islets lost To prows that seek them wearily, O'er seas by questing sunsets crost. All dreams that Hope hath promised Love, All beauty thou hast sought in vain, All joy held once and lost again, These, and the mystery thereof, I guard beneath the sundering main.
Originally titled "The Naiad's Song"