Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, MARSH MUSIC, by KENNETH SLADE ALLING



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MARSH MUSIC, by                    
First Line: A thread of sea is sewn in the green land
Last Line: Of the sea's sound -- attenuated clang.
Subject(s): Blackbirds; Sea; Swamps; Ocean; Bogs; Fens; Marshes


A thread of sea is sewn in the green land --
Bright, narrow water winding through a low
Sea-marsh that smells of tidal overflow,
That pungent silver smell marsh-birds demand.
And there are many birds, snipe from the sand,
Blackbirds and bitterns, and the marsh reeds grow
And scrape against our boat as if a bow
Rubbed on a violin -- some curious hand
Makes thus a music, vibrant, sweetly harsh --
A dim, hard tune -- an almost elfin twang,
An eerie emanation from the marsh,
Inherent, hidden, moving in the maze;
Profound though thin as if there were a trace
Of the sea's sound -- attenuated clang.





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