He was straight and strong, and his eyes were blue As the summer meeting of sky and sea, And the ruddy cliffs had a colder hue Than flushed his cheek when he married me. We passed the porch where the swallows breed, We left the little brown church behind, And I leaned on his arm, though I had no need, Only to feel him so strong and kind. One thing I never can quite forget; It grips my throat when I try to pray -- The keen salt smell of a drying net That hung on the churchyard wall that day. He would have taken a long, long grave -- A long, long grave, for he stood so tall . . . Oh, God, the crash of a breaking wave, And the smell of the nets on the churchyard wall! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE GUARDIAN OF THE RED DISK (SPOKEN BY A CITIZEN OF MALTA - 1300) by EMMA LAZARUS CLAY BISON IN A CAVE by CLARENCE MAJOR THE DIORAMA PAINTER AT THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY by KAREN SWENSON DOROTHY'S DOWER by PHOEBE CARY SEVEN TIMES SIX [ - GIVING IN MARRIAGE] by JEAN INGELOW OPPORTUNITY by EDWARD ROWLAND SILL A DESCRIPTION OF THE MORNING by JONATHAN SWIFT |