Henry I to the Sea

O Sea, take all, since thou hast taken him

Whose life to me was life. Let one wide wave

Now sweep this land, and make a single grave

For king and people. Let the wild gull skim

Where now is England, and the sea-fish swim

In every drowned cathedral's vaulted nave,

As in a green and pillared ocean cave,

Submerged for ever and for ever dim.

And if the shuddering pilot ventures there

And sees their pinnacles, like rocks to shun,

Above the waves, and green with tidal hair,

Then let him whisper that this thing was done

By God, the Lord of Oceans, at the prayer

Of England's king, who mourned his only son.