Carved by the stillness, clean as rock 
The moors lie open to the sky. 
Each bearded dune stands like a stock 
In early nudity. 

No shadow stirs, to crack the spell 
Cast by the heat upon this waste 
That shows the candor of a shell 
To heavens as bare, as chaste. 
Alone coarse beach grass, shaggy pine 
Find sea-grudged root beneath the sand, 
And stubborn as the wind, define 
The salt lagoon from the salt land. 
White as the surf, white as the sun, 
The cottages cling sleepily 
Each to its hillock, one and one, 
Like sea-fed gulls beside the sea. 
Between its knees this naked place 
Holds the strange peace that is assured 
To those who smile in their embrace 
At violence dreaded or endured.