"What says the sea, little shell?" in  General   

"What says the sea, little shell?
What says the sea?
Long has our brother been silent to us,
Kept his message for the ships,
Awkward ships, stupid ships."

"The sea bids you mourn, O Pines,
Sing low in the moonlight.
He sends tale of the land of doom,
Of place where endless falls
A rain of women's tears,
And men in grey robes --
Men in grey robes --
Chant the unknown pain."

"What says the sea, little shell?
What says the sea?
Long has our brother been silent to us,
Kept his message for the ships,
Puny ships, silly ships."

"The sea bids you teach, O Pines,
Sing low in the moonlight;
Teach the gold of patience,
Cry gospel of gentle hands,
Cry a brotherhood of hearts.
The sea bids you teach, O Pines."

"And where is the reward, little shell?
What says the sea?
Long has our brother been silent to us,
Kept his message for the ships,
Puny ships, silly ships."

"No word says the sea, O Pines,
No word says the sea.
Long will your brother be silent to you,
Keep his message for the ships,
O puny pines, silly pines."

By Stephen Crane

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Other poems by Stephen Crane:

• "And the sins of the fathers shall be"
• "Have you ever made a just man?"
• "I have heard the sunset song of the birches,"
• "It was wrong to do this," said the angel
• "Tell brave deeds of war."
• "Think as I think," said a man
• "Truth," said a traveller
• "What says the sea, little shell?"
• A god in wrath
• A learned man came to me once
• A little ink more or less!
• A man feared that he might find an assassin
• A man said to the universe:
• A man saw a ball of gold in the sky
• A man toiled on a burning road
• A man went before a strange God
• A newspaper is a collection of half-injustices
• A slant of sun on dull brown walls,
• A spirit sped
• A youth in apparel that glittered
• And you love me
• Ay, workman, make me a dream,
• Behold, from the land of the farther suns
• Behold, the grave of a wicked man
• Black riders came from the sea.
• Blustering God
• Charity thou art a lie,
• Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind
• Each small gleam was a voice,
• Fast rode the knight
• Forth went the candid man
• Friend, your white beard sweeps the ground
• God fashioned the ship of the world carefully.
• God lay dead in heaven
• I explain the silvered passing of a ship at night,
• I looked here
• I met a seer
• I saw a man pursuing the horizon
• I stood musing in a black world
• I stood upon a high place,
• I stood upon a highway
• I walked in a desert
• I was in the darkness
• If I should cast off this tattered coat
• If there is a witness to my little life,
• In a lonely place,
• In heaven
• In the desert
• In the night
• Love walked alone
• Many red devils ran from my heart
• Many workmen
• Mystic shadow, bending near me,
• On the desert
• On the horizon the peaks assembled
• Once a man clambering to the housetops
• Once I saw mountains angry
• Once there came a man
• Once there was a man
• Once, I knew a fine song
• Places among the stars
• Should the wide world roll away,
• Supposing that I should have the courage
• The chatter of a death-demon from a tree-top
• The impact of a dollar upon the heart
• The livid lightnings flashed in the clouds
• The ocean said to me once
• The sage lectured brilliantly
• The successful man has thrust himself
• The trees in the garden rained flowers.
• The wayfarer,
• There came whisperings in the winds
• There was a great cathedral
• There was a land where lived no violets.
• There was a man and a woman
• There was a man who lived a life of fire
• There was a man with tongue of wood
• There was crimson clash of war.
• There was one I met upon the road
• There was set before me a mighty hill
• There was, before me
• There were many who went in huddled procession
• Three little birds in a row
• To the maiden
• Tradition, thou art for suckling children
• Two or three angels
• Upon the road of my life
• Walking in the sky
• When a people reach the top of a hill,
• When the prophet, a complacent fat man,
• Why do you strive for greatness, fool?
• With eye and with gesture
• Yes, I have a thousand tongues
• You say you are holy
• You tell me this is God?