Poem by Alan Seeger

Thirty Sonnets. 28. On the Cliffs, Newport

Tonight a shimmer of gold lies mantled o'er
Smooth lovely Ocean.  Through the lustrous gloom
A savor steals from linden trees in bloom
And gardens ranged at many a palace door.
Proud walls rise here, and, where the moonbeams pour
Their pale enchantment down the dim coast-line,
Terrace and lawn, trim hedge and flowering vine,
Crown with fair culture all the sounding shore.
How sweet, to such a place, on such a night,
From halls with beauty and festival a-glare,
To come distract and, stretched on the cool turf,
Yield to some fond, improbable delight,
While the moon, reddening, sinks, and all the air
Sighs with the muffled tumult of the surf!

1. Thirty Sonnets. 5. Sonnet 5. A tide of beauty with returning May
2. Thirty Sonnets. 13. Sonnet 13. I fancied, while you stood conversing there
3. Tithonus
4. Thirty Sonnets. 15. Sonnet 15. Above the ruin of God's holy place
5. Thirty Sonnets. 6. Sonnet 6. Give me the treble of thy horns and hoofs

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