O Gull, You're So Divine!

Sea-Bird
~ Elizabeth Allen (Florence Percy)

O LONESOME sea-gull, floating far

Over the ocean’s icy waste,

Aimless and wide thy wanderings are,

Forever vainly seeking rest:—

Where is thy mate, and where thy nest?

’Twixt wintry sea and wintry sky,          

  Cleaving the keen air with thy breast,  

Thou sailest slowly, solemnly;                

  No fetter on thy wing is pressed:—      

  Where is thy mate, and where thy nest?

O restless, homeless human soul,           

  Following for aye thy nameless quest,

The gulls float, and the billows roll;         

  Thou watchest still, and questionest:— 

Where is thy mate, and where thy nest?