BESIDE a vast and primal sea A solitary savage he, Who gathered for his tribe's rude need The daily dole of raw sea-weed. He watched the great tides rise and fall, And spoke the truth—or not at all! Along the awful shore he ran A simple pre-Pelasgian; A thing primeval, undefiled, Straightforward as a little child,— Until one morn he made a grab And caught a mesozoic crab! Then—told the tribe at close of day A bigger one had got away! From him have sprung (I own a bias To ways the cult of rod and fly has) All fishermen—and Ananias! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EPITAPH ON CHARLES II by JOHN WILMOT COMPOSED BY THE SEA-SIDE NEAR CALAIS [AUGUST 1802] by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH ODE TO WORK by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS ADVENTURE ON THE WINGS OF MORNING by RACHEL ALBRIGHT IN AN ATELIER by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH QUATRAIN: FROM EASTERN SOURCES: 2 by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |