Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SCHOONER, by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN Poet's Biography First Line: Just mark that schooner westward far at sea Last Line: And that strong hand within unbars the gates. Alternate Author Name(s): Brown, T. E. Subject(s): Ships & Shipping | ||||||||
JUST mark that schooner westward far at sea -- 'Tis but an hour ago When she was lying hoggish at the quay, And men ran to and fro, And tugged, and stamped, and shoved, and pushed, and swore, And ever and anon, with crapulous glee, Grinned homage to viragoes on the shore. So to the jetty gradual she was hauled: Then one the tiller took, And chewed, and spat upon his hand, and bawled; And one the canvas shook Forth like a mouldy bat; and one, with nods And smiles, lay on the bowsprit-end, and called And cursed the Harbour-master by his gods. And, rotten from the gunwale to the keel, Rat-riddled, bilge-bestank, Slime-slobbered, horrible, I saw her reel, And drag her oozy flank, And sprawl among the deft young waves, that laughed, And leapt, and turned in many a sportive wheel, As she thumped onward with her lumbering draught. And now, behold! a shadow of repose Upon a line of gray, She sleeps, that transverse cuts the evening rose -- She sleeps, and dreams away, Soft-blended in a unity of rest All jars, and strifes obscene, and turbulent throes 'Neath the broad benediction of the West -- Sleeps; and methinks she changes as she sleeps, And dies, and is a spirit pure. Lo! on her deck an angel pilot keeps His lonely watch secure; And at the entrance of Heaven's dockyard waits, Till from Night's leash the fine-breath'd morning leaps, And that strong hand within unbars the gates. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LIVE IT THROUGH by DAVID IGNATOW THE SHIP POUNDING by DONALD HALL ULTRAISTA ONEIRIC by ANSELM HOLLO THE NORTH SHIP by PHILIP LARKIN GOOD SHIPS by JOHN CROWE RANSOM A SERMON AT CLEVEDON; GOOD FRIDAY by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN |
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