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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 3. ANDROMETA, by EDWARD CARPENTER Poet's Biography First Line: Now over the mediterranean shore, fronting the sun Last Line: Dragon guards its prey. Subject(s): Andromeda (mythology); Civilization; Democracy; Goddesses & Gods; Mythology | |||
NOW over the Mediterranean shore, fronting the sun, In the great woods where only the peasant comes And brings his bottle of wine, and figs, and goat-milk cheese— The Gods yet dwell, but are not seen of men. Steeply the ground slopes from the chestnut woods above, Through tangles of pine and arbutus, myrtle and rosemary, Down to the sea. The tasseled evergreen oak grants densest shade—the acacia showers its fragrance on the air; In open spots the rock-rose blooms, And the green lizard's little heart beats fast in the sun. Here all day long mindful of times gone by The sun yet lingers; from the slumbering sea (On whose clear sands the yellow and hornéd poppy loves to stray) Sometimes fair Aphrodite lifts an arm Unseen of mortals The Dryads in the aspen branches wave Their trembling fingers, and young Hyacinth Droops earthward once more wounded by his lover. But none resume their ancient human form. He, the great Liberator, with the wand of love so wonderful (Who dwelt on earth, and dwells not, but must dwell again), He comes not—whom they wait. The rocks, the trees, the flowers, the loving animals, The sea, the heavenly winds, The human form that chained within them all Pleads for deliverance— He comes not whom they wait. Only the train shrieks by with monkey faces staring out of the windows; Hotel and villa desecrate the land; Wealth trails its slime; the Greek has fled; and Civilisation like a dismal dragon guards its prey. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BEDTIME READING FOR THE UNBORN CHILD by KHALED MATTAWA EAST OF CARTHAGE: AN IDYLL by KHALED MATTAWA SEVEN TWILIGHTS: 7 by CONRAD AIKEN VICARIOUS ATONEMENT by RICHARD ALDINGTON NOTHING ABOUT THE MOMENT by LUCILLE CLIFTON VENUS IN A GARDEN by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON AN OFFERING FOR TARA by GARY SNYDER AS A MOULD FOR SOME FAIR FORM by EDWARD CARPENTER |
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