Page:Verses–Blanche·Baughan-1898.pdf/88



PEBBLES, pebbles by the sea, Is it, I wonder, better to be Snatch’d away by the hurrying waves, Swallow’d down to the rolling caves, Where the mad water wrestles and raves: Dash’d upon rocks, champ'd amid foam, Toss’d and turn’d, Trampled and churn’d, Spued out at last on the self-same shore, Flung back awhile to the self-same home, —Not the same pebbles as before! But smooth’d and rounded and jewel bright, A line of laughter, a dance of light, The shore’s glory, the sun’s delight: