by William Wordsworth
IT is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a Nun
Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
Is sinking down in its tranquillity;
The gentleness of heaven broods o’er the sea:
Listen! the mighty Being is awake,
And doth with his eternal motion make
A sound like thunder—everlastingly.
Dear Child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here,
If thou appear untouch’d by solemn thought,
Thy nature is not therefore less divine:
Thou liest in Abraham’s bosom all the year;
And worshipp’st at the Temple’s inner shrine,
God being with thee when we know it not.
Perhaps slightly cheating as Wordsworth is referencing the sea from Calais here— known as La Manche, or the sleeve in France, but worth including!
You can read more about William Wordsworth here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wordsworth
English Channel Poetry Archive 