I was cast upon the shore.
I feared the pitiless rocks of Ocean;
So the great sea rose--and then
Cast me from her friendly bosom,
On the pitiless hearts of men.

Gaunt and dreary ran the mountains,
With black gorges, up the land;
Up to where the lonely Desert
Spreads her burning, dreary sand:
In the gorges of the mountains,
On the plain beside the sea,
Dwelt my stern and cruel masters,
The black Moors of Barbary.

Ten long years I toiled among them,
Hopeless--as I used to say;
Now I know Hope burnt within me
Fiercer, stronger, day by day:
Those dim years of toil and sorrow
Like one long dark dream appear;
One long day of weary waiting--
Then each day was like a year.

How I cursed the land--my prison;
How I cursed the serpent sea--
And the Demon Fate that showered
All her curses upon me;
I was mad, I think--God pardon
Words so terrible and wild--