Towering high above oil-stained lands, A rotting wooden structure stands. From the rude frame platform above A great iron cable limply hangs, Its lower end pulled loose from The broken concrete base. Halfway to the ground a splintered ladder Sways. It makes a hollow clatter When the wind comes in wild fury, Darkened by the gritty sand, Swirled from regions to the northwest -- And casts a veil of dust, obliterating space. The slush-pit, once filled with black waste oil, Is but a mass of heavy sinking tar; And where the shanty tool-house once stood near, Now lies a heap of blackened wood. But over the forgotten tower there shines the same bright star That cast its rays upon the derrick in an early year. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BLACK REGIMENT by GEORGE HENRY BOKER THE SCHOLARS by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS THE ROSE I GREW by JULIA S. ANDERSON YOUR NEIGHBOR by H. HOWARD BIGGAR BESS AND HER SPINNING-WHEEL by ROBERT BURNS |