A Sonnet for James


Oh you are life to me, as spring's flood tide
Does bring to feeding birds; where rising airs
Of salt and seaweed greet their hearts with joy,
For feeding then they are, like me, content.

As sure as the flooding tides bring plenty,
And help our laden ships homeward bound,
My constant love for you does so endure;
But how the daily brimming tides bring change.

For at the reach of flood, the ebb must come,
And life and love like mine be swept away.
Grieve not, your wife and child have bounty brought;
They shall sustain you as the tide does turn.

Let each coming tide remind you of my love,
And how I loved and lived, and lived complete.

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