sonnet14 lines

Sunset On Hampton Roads.

Behind me purplish lines marked out the town,

Before me stretched the noble Roadstead's tide:

And there I saw the Evening sun go down

Casting a parting glory far and wide -

As King who for the cowl puts off his crown -

So went the sun: and left a wealth of light

Ere hidden by the cloister-gates of Night.

Beholding this my soul was stilled in prayer,

I understood how all men, save the blind,

Might find religion in a scene so fair

And formulate a creed within the mind; -

See prophesies in clouds; fates in the air;

The skies flamed red; the murm'ring waves were hushed -

"The conscious water saw its God and blushed."