Musing on the Roaring Ocean
written in 1788
Musing on the Roaring Ocean - meaning Summary
Longing Across the Sea
The poem presents a speaker who wrestles with longing and uncertainty while separated from a beloved by the sea. Imagery of the "roaring ocean" frames alternating waves of hope and fear, suggesting natural forces that mirror emotional tides. Nighttime and sleep are invoked as places where sympathetic spirits or memories visit, offering consolation through remembrance. The speaker contrasts their inward sorrow with carefree observers who know no grief, and asks night and kind spirits to continue bringing news or visions of the absent person. The tone is plaintive, devotional, and quietly intimate.
Read Complete AnalysesMusing on the roaring ocean, Which divides my love and me; Wearying heav'n in warm devotion, For his weal where'er he be. Hope and Fear's alternate billow Yielding late to Nature's law, Whispering spirits round my pillow, Talk of him that's far awa. Ye whom sorrow never wounded, Ye who never shed a tear, Care-untroubled, joy-surrounded, Gaudy day to you is dear. Gentle night, do thou befriend me, Downy sleep, the curtain draw; Spirits kind, again attend me, Talk of him that's far awa!
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