Classic and Contemporary Poetry
GREENOCK, by JOHN DAVIDSON Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: I need %no world more spacious than the region here Last Line: And here men to know, women to love Subject(s): Greenock, Scotland | ||||||||
I need No world more spacious than the region here: The foam-embroidered firth, a purple path For argosies that still on pinions speed, Or fiery-hearted cleave with iron limbs And bows precipitous the pliant sea; The sloping shores that fringe the velvet tides With heavy bullion and with golden lace Of restless pebble woven and fine spun sand; The villages that sleep the winter through, And, wakening with the spring, keep festival All summer and all autumn: this grey town That pipes the morning up before the lark With shrieking steam, and from a hundred stalks Lacquers the sooty sky; where hammers clang On iron hulls, and cranes in harbours creak Rattle and swing, whole cargoes on their necks; Where men sweat gold that others hoard or spend, And lurk like vermin in their narrow streets: This old grey town, this firth, the further strand Spangled with hamlets, and the wooded steeps, Whose rocky tops behind each other press, Fantastically carved like antique helms High-hung in heaven's cloudy armoury, Is world enough for me. Here daily dawn Burns through the smoky east; with fire-shod feet The sun treads heaven, and steps from hill to hill Downward before the night that still pursues His crimson wake; here winter plies his craft, Soldering the years with ice; here spring appears, Caught in a leafless brake, her garland torn, Breathless with wonder, and the tears half-dried Upon her rosy cheek; here summer comes And wastes his passion like a prodigal Right royally; and here her golden gains Free-handed as a harlot autumn spends; And here are men to know, women to love. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A BALLAD OF HELL by JOHN DAVIDSON A NORTHERN SUBURB by JOHN DAVIDSON A RUNNABLE STAG by JOHN DAVIDSON HOLIDAY AT HAMPTON COURT by JOHN DAVIDSON IN ROMNEY MARSH by JOHN DAVIDSON THIRTY BOB A WEEK by JOHN DAVIDSON A BALLAD IN BLANK VERSE by JOHN DAVIDSON A BALLAD OF A COWARD by JOHN DAVIDSON A BALLAD OF A NUN by JOHN DAVIDSON |
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