Classic and Contemporary Poetry
DOWN AT THE DOCKS, by ISABEL ECCLESTONE MACKAY Poet's Biography First Line: Down at the docks-when the smoke clouds lie Last Line: With a secret tide to a secret sea. Subject(s): Fish & Fishing; Sailing & Sailors; Seashore; Ships & Shipping; Beach; Coast; Shore | ||||||||
DOWN at the dockswhen the smoke clouds lie, Wind-ript and red, on an angry sky Coal-dumps and derricks and piled-up bales, Tar and the gear of forgotten sails, Rusted chains and a broken spar (Yesterday's breath on the things that are) A lone, black cat and a snappy cur, Smell of high-tide and of newcut fir, Smell of low-tide, fish, weed!I swear I love every blessed smell that's there For, aeons ago when the sea began, My soul was the soul of a sailorman. Down at the dockswhere the ships come in, And the endless trails of the sea begin, Where the shining wake of a steamer's track Is barred by the tow of the tugboats black, Where slim yachts dip to the singing spray And a gay wind whistles the world away Here sad ships lie which will sail no more, But new ships build on the noisy shore, And always the breath of the wind and tide Whispers the lure of the sea outside, Till now and to-morrow and yesterday Are linked by the spell of the faraway! Down at the dockswhen the morning's new And the air is gold and the distance blue, There's a pull at the heart! But best of all Is to see the sun shrink, red and small, While the fog steals in (more surely fleet Than the smacks that run from her white-shod feet) And clamours of startled calls arise From bewildered ships that have lost their eyes; The fog horn bellows its deep-mouthed shout, The little lights on the shore blur out And strange, dim shapes pass wistfully With a secret tide to a secret sea. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SEASHORE by JOHN FREDERICK NIMS EASTERN LONG ISLAND by MARVIN BELL THE WIND IS BLOWING WEST by JOSEPH CERAVOLO IF SOMETHING SHOULD HAPPEN by LUCILLE CLIFTON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER EMPTIES INTO THE GULF by LUCILLE CLIFTON GEOGRAPHY AS WARNING by MADELINE DEFREES POWER FAILURE by MADELINE DEFREES A CHRISTMAS CHILD by ISABEL ECCLESTONE MACKAY |
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