A fleck of foam on the shining sand,
Left by the ebbing sea,
But richer than man may understand
In magic and mystery--
Transient bubbles rainbow-bright,
Myriad-hued and strange,
Tremble and throb in the noonday light,
Flower and flush and change. A million tides have come and gone,
Great gales of autumn and spring,
A million summoning moons have shone
To bring to birth this thing--
A foam-fleck left on the ribbed wet sand
By the wave of an outgoing sea,
With all the colour of Faeryland,
Wonder and mystery.