Oh what Comes over the Sea
A speaker asks what crosses the sea and comes home to them. A moaning wind crosses, but nothing comes home. The speaker asks to be left alone, declaring their lot settled and land and sea alike to them.
By Christina Georgina Rossetti · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Melancholic Poetry · 119 words
First lines
Song.
Oh what comes over the sea, / Shoals and quicksands past; / And what comes home to me, / Sailing slow, sailing fast?
A wind comes over the sea / With a moan in its blast; / But nothing comes home to me, / Sailing slow, sailing fast.
Let me be, let me be, / For my lot is cast: / Land or sea all's one to me, / And sail it slow or fast.
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — Three rhymed stanzas voice a speaker's question, disappointment, and resignation through repeated references to sailing.
- Melancholic Poetry — The moaning wind and the statement that nothing comes home lead to a plea to be left alone.
Tags
sea · wind · absence · resignation · lyric poetry
What this Textopian page supports
Oh what Comes over the Sea is listed on Textopian as a poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Melancholic Poetry
- Length: 119 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
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