Classic and Contemporary Poetry
EVANESCENCE, by JOHN LAWSON STODDARD Poet's Biography First Line: Passing ships! Passing ships! Last Line: Must daily mourn some vanished hand. Subject(s): Life; Sailing & Sailors; Ships & Shipping | ||||||||
Passing ships! Passing ships! The white foam sparkling at your lips And countless jewels in your wake Proclaim your progress o'er the lake, While on your decks a smiling throng Surveys this realm of sun and song. Slipping by! Slipping by! O'er waves that duplicate the sky I watch you daily come and go, But rarely is there one I know Of all who at your railings stand, To view with joy this storied land. On ye pass! On ye pass! At times I follow through my glass Your silent course from sunset light To meet the dusky veil of night, As swiftly round the curving shore Glide faces I shall see no more. Sailing on! Sailing on! The transient voyagers now are gone; Yet though the hills their features hide, One memory of them will abide, -- The thought of their enraptured gaze In this the gem of Larian bays. Gliding by! Gliding by! Why is it that I look, . . . and sigh? What makes my heart thus vaguely yearn For strangers who will ne'er return? I would not really have them stay, Yet grieve to see them fade away. Hail-farewell! Hail-farewell! Those passing steamers seem to tell That all ships, whether slow or fast, Will cross life's little bay at last, While we who linger on the strand Must daily mourn some vanished hand. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LIVE IT THROUGH by DAVID IGNATOW THE SHIP POUNDING by DONALD HALL ULTRAISTA ONEIRIC by ANSELM HOLLO THE NORTH SHIP by PHILIP LARKIN GOOD SHIPS by JOHN CROWE RANSOM A MAY MONODY by JOHN LAWSON STODDARD |
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