"A Name in The Sand" by Hannah F. Gould
A Name in the Sand Alone I walked the ocean strand; A pearly shell was in my hand: I stooped and wrote upon the sand, My name _ the year _ the day. As onward from the spot I passed One lingering look behind I cast, A wave came rolling high and fast, And washed my lines away. And as methought ‘twill shortly be With every mark on earth from me: A wave of dark oblivion’s sea Will sweep across the place Where I have trod the sandy shore Of Time, and been to be no more, Of me _ my day_ the name I bore, To leave nor track nor trace. And You with Him who counts the sands, And holds the waters in his hands I know a lasting record stands Inscribed against my name, Of all this mortal part has wrought; Of all this thinking soul has thought And from these fleeting moments caught For glory or for shame. Hannah F. Gould. Link to official poem | Information about this poem Biography of Hannah F. Gould Description of the poem's formal elements Explication of this poem |