Sea Blood

"Whoso offendeth one of these,"—the tale My childhood conned. O bright Tunisian sea, That often with thy waves hast harbored me, What sounds, far-heard, make my old sea blood pale, Who here first saw the whitening of a sail Eastward, and thanked God that my lot should be Beside the ocean's endless alchemy To breathe life-long the salt Atlantic gale?

Clamor of panic and war's driving shell Rifting that turquoise-green, that violet floor, And cries of death parting the foamy sphere! What men are these who, vomited from hell, Bloody anew the brilliant Corsair shore Our fleet first ransomed, to our memories dear?