Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE FRIEND, by HENRY DAVID THOREAU Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: The great friend Last Line: A profounder mystery. Subject(s): Friendship; India; Sea; Ocean | ||||||||
The great friend Dwells at the land's end, There lives he Next to the sea. Fleets come and go, Carrying commerce to and fro, But still sits he on the sand And maketh firm that headland. Mariners steer them by his light Safely in the darkest night, He holds no visible communion For his friendship is a union. Many men dwell far inland, But he alone sits on the strand, Whether he ponders men or books Ever still he seaward looks, Feels the sea-breeze on his cheek, At each word the landsmen speak; From some distant port he hears Of the ventures of past years In the sullen ocean's roar Of wrecks upon a distant shore; In every companion's eye A sailing vessel doth descry; Marine news he ever reads And the slightest glances heeds. Near is India to him Though his native shore is dim, But the bark which long was due, Never -- never -- heaves in view, Which shall put an end to commerce And bring back what it took from us, (Which shall make Siberia free Of the climes beyond the sea) Fetch the Indies in its hold, All their spices and their gold, And men sail the sea no more The sea itself become a shore, To a broader deeper sea, A profounder mystery. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HALL OF OCEAN LIFE by JOHN HOLLANDER JULY FOURTH BY THE OCEAN by ROBINSON JEFFERS BOATS IN A FOG by ROBINSON JEFFERS CONTINENT'S END by ROBINSON JEFFERS THE FIGUREHEAD by LEONIE ADAMS |
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