On Calais Sands

ON Calais Sands the gray began,  

 Then rosy red above they gray;  

The morn with many a scarlet van  

 Leaped, and the world was glad with May!  

The little waves along the bay

 Broke white upon the shelving strands;  

The sea-mews flitted white as they  

       On Calais Sands!  

On Calais Sands must man with man  

 Wash honor clean in blood to-day;

On spaces wet from waters wan  

 How white the flashing rapiers play,—  

Parry, riposte! and lunge! The fray  

 Shifts for a while, then mournful stands  

The Victor: life ebbs fast away

       On Calais Sands!  

On Calais Sands a little space  

 Of silence, then the plash and spray,  

The sound of eager waves that ran  

 To kiss the perfumed locks astray,

To touch these lips that ne’er said “Nay,”  

 To dally with the helpless hands,  

Till the deep sea in silence lay  

       On Calais Sands!  

Between the lilac and the may

 She waits her love from alien lands;  

Her love is colder than the clay  

       On Calais Sands!