Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


SHORE LINE by LENA HALL

First Line: WHEN THE DRY LAND APPEARED, AND SEAS WERE CALLED
Last Line: THAT GOD MADE NOT A MAN -- AND THEN A SHORE!
Subject(s): CREATION; SEA; SEASHORE; OCEAN; BEACH; COAST; SHORE;

When the dry land appeared, and seas were called
By name, there sprang a palpitating line
Of shore, -- three days swept by a turbid brine
Before a foot of man could stand enthralled.
He who has toyed with shores from his first days,
Scattering sand in showers, or slipping slow
Along a seaweed floor, alone can know
The thrill of that sixth day, its long amaze.
I may not stand on any wind-cropped hill
But I must find somewhere the water's edge;
Or own an imagist with any will,
Till he knows how waves break upon a ledge.
I have indebtedness for one thing more, --
That God made not a man -- and then a shore!



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