A thread of sea is sewn in the green land -- Bright, narrow water winding through a low Sea-marsh that smells of tidal overflow, That pungent silver smell marsh-birds demand. And there are many birds, snipe from the sand, Blackbirds and bitterns, and the marsh reeds grow And scrape against our boat as if a bow Rubbed on a violin -- some curious hand Makes thus a music, vibrant, sweetly harsh -- A dim, hard tune -- an almost elfin twang, An eerie emanation from the marsh, Inherent, hidden, moving in the maze; Profound though thin as if there were a trace Of the sea's sound -- attenuated clang. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...RETROSPECT by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON TWO WITCHES: 2. THE PAUPER WITCH OF GRAFTON by ROBERT FROST VERSES ON MRS. ROWE by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD PSALM 3. DOMINE QUID MULTIPLICATI by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE SONNET ON MOOR PARK; FORMERLY THE SEAT OF SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE by SAMUEL EGERTON BRYDGES |