New Hampshire Statesman

THE WIND AND THE SEA.

The sea is a jovial comrade.
He laughs wherever he goes:
His merriment shines in the dimpling lines
That wrinkle his gay repose:
He lays down at the feet of the sun,
And shakes all over with glee,
And the broad-backed billows fall faint on the shore
In the mirth of the mighty Sea.

But the wind is sad and restless,
And cursed with an inward pain:
You may hark as you will, by valley or hill,
But you hear him still complain.
He wails on the barren mountains,
And shrieks on the wintry sea;
He sobs in the cedar and moans in the pine,
And shudders all over the aspen tree.

Welcome are both their voices,
And I know not which is best—
The laughter that slips from the Ocean's lips,
Or the comfortless Wind's unrest.
There's a pang in all rejoicing,
A joy in the heart of pain,
And the Wind that saddens, the Sea that gladdens
Are singing the self-same strain.