Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FROM THE NORTHWEST COAST: GLACIER, by ALICE HENSON ERNST



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FROM THE NORTHWEST COAST: GLACIER, by                    
First Line: Down from high silences, neighbored by moon and sun
Last Line: Fading to restless mist in some uncharted haven.
Subject(s): Glaciers


Down from high silences, neighbored by moon and sun,
Over eternal snows in a hurt path, endlessly begun
By endless flakes of coldness feeding that still, dead life
Through centuries of pain, the old ice-griffin creeps
Feebly, pursued by bitter arrows of the frost
That sting his aged skeleton into elusive bloom;
Past the uneasy clutch of forests, gray with sleep,
Stirring their ancient mourning-cloaks of gloom,
Until his outstretched fingers reach the sea,
Like a thing loved, in last exhaustion.

But the sea makes high carnival of death --
The wide-bosomed, strong, mad sea --
Rending the shining bones for fit burial:
And from those lustral rites, phantom ships gleaming
Cruise silently to unknown seas, wind-driven,
Fading to restless mist in some uncharted haven.





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