Oh, Gelert, strong of wind and strong of paw,
Here gazing like your namesake, 'Snowdon's Hound,'
When great Llewelyn's child could not be found,
And all the warriors stood in speechless awe--
Mute as your namesake when his master saw
The cradle tossed--the rushes red around--
With never a word, but only a whimpering sound
To tell what meant the blood on lip and jaw!
In such a strait, to aid this gaze so fond,
Should I, brave friend, have needed other speech
Than this dear whimper? Is there not a bond
Stronger than words that binds us each to each?--
But Death has caught us both. 'Tis far beyond
The strength of man or dog to win the beach.
Through tangle-weed--through coils of slippery kelp
Decking your shaggy forehead, those brave eyes
Shine true--shine deep of love's divine surmise
As hers who gave you--then a Titan whelp!--
I think you know my danger and would help!--
See how I point to yonder smack that lies
At anchor--Go! His countenance replies.
Hope's music rings in Gelert's eager yelp!
[The dog swims swiftly away down the tide.]
Now, life and love and death swim out with him!
If he should reach the smack, the men will guess
The dog has left his master in distress.
She taught him in these very waves to swim--
'The prince of pups,' she said, 'for wind and limb'--
And now those lessons come to save--to bless.
Envoy
(The day after the rescue: Gelert and his master walking along
the sand.)
'Twas in no glittering tourney's mimic strife,--
'Twas in that bloody fight in Raxton Grove,
While hungry ravens croaked from boughs above,
And frightened blackbirds shrilled the warning fife--
'Twas there, in days when Friendship still was rife.
Mine ancestor who threw the challenge-glove
Conquered and found his foe a soul to love,
Found friendship--Life's great second crown of life.
So I this morning love our North Sea more
Because he fought me well, because these waves
Now weaving sunbows for us by the shore
Strove with me, tossed me in those emerald caves
That yawned above my head like conscious graves--
I love him as I never loved before.