Answer:
In the passage, the figurative meaning of the phrase “the waves” is emotions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Figurative language is when you utilize non-literal words or phrases to give your writing or speech more depth.
When he describes the ocean in this way, it suggests that the oceans are somehow protecting us by wrapping over continents, etc., like a girdle that is folded around and wrapped around you.
However, upon reading the poem in a whole, it appears that the author is referring to God and faith, as in the "sea of faith," and that the golden girdle was intended to illustrate how conspicuous faith once was.