At Day's Bay.

The heavens seemed riven with the rush and roar
(The ceaseless throbbing of the city's heart
With life exultant), and in street and mart
Sights stabbed the eye the heart must needs deplore.

I sought surcease in tomes of ancient lore,
in study of the beautiful in art;
But ah, my spirit struggled to depart
And dwell with Nature face to face once more.

Here hath my soul her sweet nepenthe found!
And joys to list, as hours unheeded pass,
The bush-dove's drowsy notes, the hum of bee,

The tui's trill, the rustling trees around,
The wind-waked murmur of the toi-toi grass,
The ever-varying music of the sea.