The sands are alive with sunshine,

The bathers lounge and throng,

And out in the bay a bugle

Is lilting a gallant song.

The clouds go racing eastward,

The blithe wind cannot rest,

And a shard on the shingle flashes

Like the shining soul of a jest;

While children romp in the surges,

And sweethearts wander free,

And the Firth as with laughter dimples…

I would it were deep over me!

~ William Ernest Henley (1849-1903)

Painting:  “Shores of Bognor Regis” by Alexander Mann (1853-1908)