Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES, by VICTOR MARIE HUGO



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES, by             Poem Explanation         Poet's Biography
First Line: My name is light. I am seventy cubits high
Last Line: In the deep trance of my colossal stare.
Subject(s): Light; Rhodes (island)


MY name is Light. I am seventy cubits high.
Ever I watch the unbridled waters beat,
A steadfast beacon. Under my huge feet
Lies Rhodes. My never-sleeping eyes descry
The snow-capt hills whereon the eagles fly.
The vast wheels of the star-led seasons fleet;
Man lives and dies; the moon-drawn tides retreat;
Fresh bales for barter on the flat wharves lie;

Day shines; the tempest slumbers or shows ire;
Warder of the blue vast I stand alway
A fixéd sentinel for ever ware;
Nor dawn nor twilight can these eyeballs tire
That watch sails fill, and waves like hounds that bay,
In the deep trance of my Colossal stare.





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