| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | II. Fine Weather at Sea | | By David Lester Richardson (1801–1865) |
| | | THE PLAIN of ocean ’neath the crystal air | |
| Its azure bound extends; the circle wide | |
| Is sharply clear; contrasted hues divide | |
| The sky and water. Clouds, like hills that wear | |
| The winter’s snow-wrought mantle, brightly fair, | 5 |
| Rest on the main’s blue marge. As shadows glide | |
| O’er dew-decked fields, the calm ship seems to slide | |
| O’er glassy paths that catch the noontide glare, | |
| As if bestrewn with diamonds. Quickly play | |
| The small crisp waves, that musically break | 10 |
| Their shining peaks. And now, if aught can make | |
| Celestial spirits wing their downward way, | |
| Methinks they glitter in the proud sun’s wake, | |
| And breathe a glorious beauty on the day. | | | | |
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