On Calais Sands

ON Calais Sands the gray began,  
 Then rosy red above they gray;  
The morn with many a scarlet van  
 Leaped, and the world was glad with May!  
The little waves along the bay
 Broke white upon the shelving strands;  
The sea-mews flitted white as they  
 On Calais Sands!  
 
On Calais Sands must man with man  
 Wash honor clean in blood to-day;
On spaces wet from waters wan  
 How white the flashing rapiers play,—  
Parry, riposte! and lunge! The fray  
 Shifts for a while, then mournful stands  
The Victor: life ebbs fast away
 On Calais Sands!  
 
On Calais Sands a little space  
 Of silence, then the plash and spray,  
The sound of eager waves that ran  
 To kiss the perfumed locks astray,
To touch these lips that ne’er said “Nay,”  
 To dally with the helpless hands,  
Till the deep sea in silence lay  
 On Calais Sands!  
 
Between the lilac and the may
 She waits her love from alien lands;  
Her love is colder than the clay  
 On Calais Sands!