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James Stephens - The Shell
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AND then I pressed the shell	 
Close to my ear	 
And listened well,	 
And straightway like a bell	 
Came low and clear	         
The slow, sad murmur of the distant seas,	 
Whipped by an icy breeze	 
Upon a shore	 
Wind-swept and desolate.	 
It was a sunless strand that never bore	  
The footprint of a man,	 
Nor felt the weight	 
Since time began	 
Of any human quality or stir	 
Save what the dreary winds and waves incur.	  
And in the hush of waters was the sound	 
Of pebbles rolling round,	 
For ever rolling with a hollow sound.	 
And bubbling sea-weeds as the waters go	 
Swish to and fro	
Their long, cold tentacles of slimy grey.	 
There was no day,	 
Nor ever came a night	 
Setting the stars alight	 
To wonder at the moon:	  
Was twilight only and the frightened croon,	 
Smitten to whimpers, of the dreary wind	 
And waves that journeyed blind—	 
And then I loosed my ear ... O, it was sweet	 
To hear a cart go jolting down the street.
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