Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TIDEWATER, by BEATRICE WITTE RAVENEL Poet's Biography First Line: Were the burned sand of aeaea Last Line: Of carolina. Variant Title(s): Coasts Subject(s): Seashore; Beach; Coast; Shore | ||||||||
Were the burned sand of AEaea, Circe's, -- stranger than yours, Wadmalah? Myrtles squat Beastlike, each crouching inland, Sand heaped like a spell on their faces. Is Samos more white Than the beaches of Kiawah? Are the mighty spirits of Rhodes more terribly splendid Than ghosts of Indian warriors? Their spears fiercer Than points of palmetto and yucca Crossed like a sword dance On Edisto? Their towers more arrogant Than the belfries of thick white bell-flowers Carved in the air? Is Marathon richlier echoed With voices of youthful heroes Than the swamps of Santee? When the bloom runs over the moss In a soft gray glory of tarnished silver, of shadowy pearl, Riders furrow the night. Marion, Marion's men, Pass in a voiceless tumult, Pass like the smoke from a torch, With dark unextinguished eyes. These are the coasts, the haunted coasts and the islands Of Carolina. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SEASHORE by JOHN FREDERICK NIMS EASTERN LONG ISLAND by MARVIN BELL THE WIND IS BLOWING WEST by JOSEPH CERAVOLO IF SOMETHING SHOULD HAPPEN by LUCILLE CLIFTON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER EMPTIES INTO THE GULF by LUCILLE CLIFTON GEOGRAPHY AS WARNING by MADELINE DEFREES POWER FAILURE by MADELINE DEFREES THE ALLIGATOR by BEATRICE WITTE RAVENEL |
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