Down by the sea where the wild waves weep,
Where the ten tossing tides rise out of the deep,
I met a lone man with the face of a ghost
And asked him the way to the sad sea-coast,
There where my love was lost.
But never a word did the pale man say,
But stood silent, letting the salt sea spray
Splash like the silver sun over his head;
And looking at him I saw he was dead,
Dead as my love was dead.

And dead were his lips and dead were his hands,
And beyond him I saw a wide vision of lands
Where the snow-swans swarm upon silent strands,
Where their last song's sung and the last star stands
Watching the lonely night.

And the man—with his hand he showed me the shore
Where the dead lie dumb amid seas that roar,
And laid himself down where the dark star fell,
And though he was dead, oh! I knew quite well
That a day would dawn for us both.