Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE LEMMINGS, by JOHN MASEFIELD


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE LEMMINGS, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Once in a hundred years the lemmings come
Last Line: Westward, in search, to death, to nothingness.
Alternate Author Name(s): Masefield, John Edward
Subject(s): Lemmings; Nothingness; Nihilism; Voids


Once in a hundred years the Lemmings come
Westward, in search of food, over the snow,
Westward, until the salt sea drowns them dumb,
Westward, till all are drowned, those Lemmings go.
Once, it is thought, there was a westward land
(Now drowned) where there was food for those starved things,
And memory of the place has burnt its brand
In the little brains of all the Lemming Kings.
Perhaps, long since, there was a land beyond
Westward from death, some city, some calm place,
Where one could taste God's quiet and be fond
With the little beauty of a human face;
But now the land is drowned, yet still we press
Westward, in search, to death, to nothingness.




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