"The Sea"

The Sea

I love the sea in every mood and whim,

        In restless longing, mad desire, or care;

        I love her when beneath the sunlit air,

She chants a mellow dirge or peaceful hymn—

While far beyond the lights grow sweet and dim.

        I love her when across the tide-lands bare

        She beats, and breaks her heart in passion there;

Or when with great soul filled unto the brim

With maddest mirth, she shakes her tawny hair,

        And flings her soft blue arms—the while she sings

        An almost bacch’nal song. So strong, so free!

Her very strength has power to ease my care,

        And her great heart to my heart comfort brings.

        Above all things on earth I love the sea.

"The Sea" printed in West Shore magazine on September 6, 1890 as dated by Ella Higginson herself. Clipping courtesy of the Ella Higginson Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Heritage Resources, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA.