Sonnet: At Dover Cliffs, July 20th 1787

William Lisle Bowles

On these white cliffs, that calm above the flood
Uplift their shadowing heads, and, at their feet,
Scarce hear the surge that has for ages beat,
Sure many a lonely wanderer has stood;
And whilst the lifted murmur met his ear,
And o'er the distant billows the still eve
Sailed slow, has thought of all his heart must leave
Tomorrow; of the friends he loved most dear;
Of social scenes, from which he wept to part;
But if, like me, he knew how fruitless all
The thoughts that would full fain the past recall,
Soon would he quell the risings of his heart,
And brave the wild winds and unhearing tide,
The world his country, and his God his guide.

Next 10 Poems

• William Lisle Bowles : Sonnet: At Ostend, July 22nd 1787
• William Lisle Bowles : Sonnet: July 18th 1787
• William Lisle Bowles : Sonnet: Languid, And Sad, And Slow, From Day To Day
• William Lisle Bowles : Sonnet: O Poverty! Though From Thy Haggard Eye
• William Lisle Bowles : Time And Grief
• William Lisle Bowles : To A Friend
• William Lisle Bowles : To The River Itchin, Near Winton
• William Lisle Bowles : To The River Tweed
• William Lisle Bowles : To The River Wenbeck
• William Lisle Bowles : V. To The River Tweed.

Previous 10 Poems

• William Lisle Bowles : On The Funeral Of Charles The First At Night, In St. George's Chapel, Windsor
• William Lisle Bowles : On The Funeral Of Charles The First
• William Lisle Bowles : On Hearing
• William Lisle Bowles : On A Distant View Of England
• William Lisle Bowles : On A Beautiful Landscape
• William Lisle Bowles : O Thou, Whose Stern Command And Precepts Pure
• William Lisle Bowles : O Poverty! Though From Thy Haggard Eye
• William Lisle Bowles : Netley Abbey
• William Lisle Bowles : Languid, And Sad, And Slow, From Day To Day
• William Lisle Bowles : Ix. O Poverty! Though From Thy Haggard Eye...