A Sea Tragedy [poem by F. Rollett]

[Editor: This poem by F. Rollett was published in The Bulletin Reciter, 1901.]

A Sea Tragedy.

And he lies there,
With the sand in his mouth and the salt in his hair ;
And I stand here,
Naked and burnt in the blazing sun :
And the Sea lies calm,
Shining and blue in the morning air,
Seeming unconscious of what it has done.

Curse you, O Sea !
You have robbed him of life and me of a friend —
Wrecked us and tossed us here on the shore,
Just when the toil of our life was o’er.
Curse you, O Sea !
We have loved you and fought you many a year,
Laughed at your fury many a time,
Met you in peace and met you in storm ;
And now, as we gave you our last good-bye,
You acted the part of a treacherous foe ;
You have robbed me of fortune and friend at a blow.

Naked I am on the blazing sand —
Not even a knife to dig him a grave :
Foodless, waterless here — in a land
As bare of life as that gleaming wave.
Faithful old chum !
We have lived together so many years
I do not care to part from you now.
Come ! I can lift you up in my arms,
Swim with you just a few fathoms from shore,
And sink with you into the Nevermore !

F. Rollett.

Source:
A.G. Stephens (editor). The Bulletin Reciter: A Collection of Verses for Recitation from “The Bulletin” [1880-1901], The Bulletin Newspaper Company, Sydney, 1902 [first published 1901], pages 61-62