The ebb came br And I saw the dead eyes of the houses br And the jealousy of other forgotten things br That storm had not carried thence. br And some more centuries passed over the ebb and flow br And over the loneliness of things forgotten. br And I lay there all the while br In the careless grip of the mud, br Never wholly covered, br Yet never able to go free, br And I longed for the great caress of the warm Earth br Or the comfortable lap of the Sea.