John G. C. Brainard (1796–1828)

THERE’S beauty in the deep:—

The wave is bluer than the sky;

And though the light shine bright on high,

More softly do the sea-gems glow

That sparkle in the depths below;

The rainbow’s tints are only made

When on the waters they are laid,

And Sun and Moon most sweetly shine

Upon the ocean’s level brine.

There ’s beauty in the deep.

There ’s music in the deep:—

It is not in the surf’s rough roar,

Nor in the whispering, shelly shore—

They are but earthly sounds, that tell

How little of the sea-nymph’s shell,

That sends its loud, clear note abroad,

Or winds its softness through the flood,

Echoes through groves with coral gay,

And dies, on spongy banks, away.

There ’s music in the deep.

There ’s quiet in the deep:—

Above, let tides and tempests rave,

And earth-born whirlwinds wake the wave;

Above, let care and fear contend,

With sin and sorrow to the end:

Here, far beneath the tainted foam,

That frets above our peaceful home,

We dream in joy, and wake in love,

Nor know the rage that yells above.

There ’s quiet in the deep.