The Director beat a sharp tattoo Upon my window pane, While all the world outside was hushed With muted summer rain ... There stirred a liquid tremolo And then a sudden beat Of footsteps on the screeking sand Till waves drowned out my feet. A sturdy sound of wooden blocks, A thump on deck of pine, A crack of canvas in the wind, The drip of hawser line, The crack of canvas died away, A slap of waves began, And shattered spray went ssshhhing like A cymbal as she ran. Through syncopated hiss of spume, Through creaking sheets and blocks, A clap of thunder burst the air And wheeled me to the docks. Droning wind past slender stays Gave way to easing sheet, And the gurgle past the rudder dragged Like weary waymen's feet. The rush of water suddenly Was but an idle slap, And rain that beat upon the deck A critic's hearty clap. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AFTER TU FU (THEY SAY YOU'RE STAYING IN A MOUNTAIN TEMPLE) by MARVIN BELL THE GENERAL PUBLIC by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET THE MOUNTAIN WHIPPOORWILL (A GEORGIA ROMANCE) by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET SUNSET by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON TO MARY CHURCH TERRELL - LECTURER by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE BLACK MONKEY by KATHERINE MANSFIELD |