SEA SERPENT SONNET COURTESY OF ROBERT SCHNECK

This sonnet by John G. Brainard first appeared in the Connecticut Mirror on July 21, 1823. Read more about it at:
http://spenserianjon@eclipse.co.uks.cath.vt.edu/TextRecord.php?action=GET&textsid=37114,

but in the meantime, enjoy.

Welter upon the waters mighty one—
And stretch thee in the ocean's trough of brine;
Turn thy wet scales up to the wind and sun,
And toss the billow from thy flashing fin;
Heave thy deep breathings to the ocean's din,
And bound upon its ridges in thy pride,
Or dive down to its lowest depths, and in
The caverns where its unknown monsters hide,
Measure thy length beneath the gulf stream's tide,
Or rest thee on the naval of that sea
Where floating on the Maelstrom, abide
The krakens sheltering under Norway's lee;
But go not to Nahant, lest men should swear,
You are a great deal bigger than you are.