“Ebb and Flow” - George W. Curtis

“It was my heart, that like a sea

Within my breast beat ceaselessly,

But like the waves along the shore,

It said ‘dream on,’ and ‘dream not more.’”

-   Curtis

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On Keeping On

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Like waves on the shore – another Monday! As I walked along the local coastline, catching my breath before the week, “Ebb and Flow” came to mind…

This poem captures the constant waver (WAVEr) between confidence and insecurity, and I like the way it shows how our mindsets filter the world around us. Neither waves (stanzas 1 + 2) nor heartbeats (stanzas 3 + 4) have much of an opinion about our dreams. But an insecure mind finds detractors in every corner, just like an optimistic mind projects encouragement onto its surroundings.

I appreciate even more that this poem refuses to resolve the cycle. There is an initial progression in stanzas 1 à 2 (“dream no more” à “dream again”). But this is unraveled in the final line, when heartbeat says both “dream again” and “dream no more” (this time, inverted: we return to the poem’s opening to start again).

This ambivalence also manifests within stanzas and lines. Stanza 2, for example, marks the transition from doubt to belief. The waves “charge,” and “ring” a battle-cry;” the noise is an “imperial strain.” And yet, they merely “murmur” that the dreamer should continue dreaming.

Perhaps ironically, I find inspiration in this: a reminder not to overinvest in the highs and lows.

In fact, I see Curtis spurring us towards perseverance. A defining feature of both waves and heartbeat is rhythmic consistency (at least until the very end). The last lines of the poem are “dream no more,” but we can… indeed, must… assume another beat (and therefore a return to “dream again.”) The reader is invited to metaphorically pick up where the poet literally left off. To be that next breath, to continue past the moment of self-doubt.

Curtis doesn’t lie about ongoing emotional oscillation, but he reminds us that there is something beneath it – a beat or a wave – that we can ride out. Indeed, the tight aa/bb rhyme scheme, and his regular 4-beat lines, emphasize the consistency of that current.

A timely reminder…

…best of luck with the week everyone!

 I discovered Curtis (a lesser-known 19th century poet) in a collection of sea poetry (“Thalatta”) compiled by Samuel Longfellow (d. 1892), Henry Wadsworth’s younger brother.  I’m used to reading older poetry either in isolation, or in collections organized by author. It was interesting to see an early example of anthology…