Paroles

One broad, blue sweep of dancing, sunlit sea,
Fleck’d here and there with blown sails, white as foam.
Here, warm lights die and restless sea-gulls roam,
And winds steal in from ocean wantonly.
Southward, the chaste Olympics, snow-washed, free,
Gleam through the purple mist; eastward, the dome
Of all the Cascades guards our western home.
Here, wild birds pour their souls out, mad with glee,
And, downward dipping in the blue wave’s crest,
Fling opalescent drops from wings and breast;
From cool, marsh-meadows, where lies dim the light,
Soft-toned frogs make sweet the solemn night
And violet-scented morn; and ebbs and flows
The tide forever, with its joys and woes.

(Ella Higginson)