Dover Beach Experiment #2

Still not very happy, but it's coming along:

Sighing in, and sighing out
The sea lies under the moon.

The calm, the beauty
Sung for centuries
Has become a lie, a sham.

The light of the West has failed,
The hope of the World is fallen.

The tide grinds the land,
Shattering slowly
Our certitudes, our faith.
Culture, learning and faith
Crumble, eroded
By the tide we thought so fair.

Beloved, my only constant
In a world of lies and pain
Keep my heart tenderly;
You hold it in your mouth.

We are at the mercy
Of the grinding tide,
Our wisdom availeth not
Nor any hope of cheer.