Classic and Contemporary Poetry
CRETONNE TROPICS, by GRACE HAZARD CONKLING Poet's Biography First Line: The cretonne in your willow chair Last Line: And I forget the pallid sound. Subject(s): Crete | ||||||||
The cretonne in your willow chair Shows, through a zone of rosy air, A tree of parrots, agate-eyed, With blue-green crests and plumes of pride And beaks most formidably curved. I hear the river, silver-nerved, To their shrill protests make reply, And the palm forest stir and sigh. Curious, the spell that colors cast, Binding the fancy cobweb-fast, And you would smile if you could know I like your cretonne parrots so! But I have seen them sail toward night Superbly homeward, the last light Lifting them like a purple sea Scorned and made use of arrogantly; And I have heard them cry aloud From out a tall palm's emerald cloud; And I brought home a brilliant feather, Lost like a flake of sunset weather. Here in the north the sea is white And mother-of-pearl in morning light, Quite lovely, but there is a glare That daunts me. Now the willow chair Suggests a more perplexing sea, Till my heart aches with memory And parrots dye the air around, And I forget the pallid Sound. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE TOMB OF LIEUTENANT JOHN LEARMONTH, A. I. F. by JOHN STREETER MANIFOLD PHAEDRA REMEMBERS CRETE by HILDA DOOLITTLE THE FREEING OF CRETE by LEWIS MORRIS (1833-1907) CRETAN IDYL by WILLIAM ALEXANDER PERCY THE GOLDSMITH by SIEGFRIED SASSOON WITHDRAWAL FROM CRETE by AUDREY ALEXANDRA BROWN TOMB OF LIEUTENANT JOHN LEARMONTH, A. I. F. by JOHN STREETER MANIFOLD CYPRUS / THE STRANGLED by CHARLES OLSON VICTORY BELLS by GRACE HAZARD CONKLING |
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