The sea is calm to-night. br The tide is full, the moon lies fair br Upon the straits;--on the French coast the light br Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand, br Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay. br Come to the window, sweet is the night-air! br Only, from the long line of spray br Where the sea meets the moon-blanch'd land, br Listen! you hear the grating roar br Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling, br At their return, up the high strand, br Begin, and cease, and then again begin, br With tremulous cadence slow, and bring br The eternal note of sadness in. br br Sophocles long ago br Heard it on the {AE}gean, and it brought br Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow br Of human misery; we br Find also in the sound a thought, br Hearing it by this distant northern sea. br br The Sea of Faith br Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore br Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furl'd. br But now I only hear br Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, br Retreating, to the breath br Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear br And naked shingles of the world. br br Ah, love, let us be true br To one another! for the world, which seems br To lie before us like a land of dreams, br So various, so beautiful, so new, br Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, br Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; br And we are here as on a darkling plain br Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, br Where ignorant armies clash by night.