Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CORONADO, by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CORONADO, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: On the beach at coronado curves the shore in crescent wise
Last Line: Curves to met the benediction of the californian skies.
Subject(s): Dreams; Islands; Night; Seashore; Ships & Shipping; Stars; Nightmares; Bedtime; Beach; Coast; Shore


ON the beach at Coronado curves the shore in crescent wise,
And the blue of sky and water merge divinely to the eyes;
Dim, fair islands lift like phantoms from the bright Pacific floor,
And the breakers fall but blandly where the sea-gulls dip and soar.

There a spell of scented languor seems to still the pulse of pain,
And perpetual springtide hovers over land and slumbrous main,
There the blooms are lush and brilliant, there some great ship, wearing west,
Seems to pause as loath at leaving all a haven holds of rest.

And the idler, lapped in pleasance, charmed to dreams by sound and sight,
As he watches dawn or sunset or the sweeping stars of night,
Lets his mind go groping backward to the strenuous pioneers,
When the red-gold fever took them in the far, untranquil years;

To the Spaniards with their visions -- quick to fancy were they then --
Of some vast and hoarded treasures; Coronado and his men;
To the splendid quests and tumults, to the torments and defeats,
To the rovers by the rivers and the pirates in their fleets.

But so fleckless are the heavens, and such peace is found below,
In the sea-companioned gardens where the great blooms wax and blow,
Such a slow and sweet siesta bring the magical warm noons,
That all anguishes and ardors are unreal as ancient runes.

So it is -- until a storm-wind rolls the billows up the coast,
And the night is thick with portents, and the keen air's clamoring host
Fills the vault -- ah, then returning, trooping back refreshed and strong,
Come the old-time, lost marauders, ruling men with sword and song.

And they cry with clangorous voices when they sight a timid sail,
And their drinking-bouts are mighty as the hours to dawn go pale;
Royally do they forgather and their Presences resume
All the potency of living, as they revel in the gloom.

But with day, behold the languor and the beauty all restored,
Once again the waters gentle, once again divine accord
'Twixt the earth and swooning heavens, while the sand in crescent wise
Curves to met the benediction of the Californian skies.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net