I THE night hung heavy, black and chill, A blinding curtain on the hill; A faint wind in the distance stirred Far seas of sound ... but no one heard. Nearer and nearer silence crept From stone to stone, from tree to tree, Like some slow smoke insidiously, And the faint wind slept. Then suddenly ... from a lanthorn veiled A spear of light escaped and leapt, A spear of light keen-edged and stark Shattered the curtain of the dark— And leaping round that naked hill Stabbed at the men who lay so still, The mammoth men who came to kill— Who moved like death from the ships of woe Wooing the traitor sands below— To lie in the darkness here and wait, Like wolves, for the swing of the postern gate. And they shrank and quailed From the leaping light That broke the seal of that ebon night. II And then— The forest surged in wild uproar, A storm of voices rose: a trumpet blast Shook out the stars. The sky's great dome Clanged like an iron bell; Dim, dazed, gigantic men Thundered and fought and fell, While the field's green floor And the brown sea-loam Reddened ... and reddened fast. III And so ... till the last Great sheaf lay still in the torches' glow The reapers plied their scythes amain; For, born of midnight, this was stubborn yield, This was no common grain— These bearded giants roving far afield Never to rove again. IV And, on the wind that to and fro Blew from the mouth of the bitter glen, They heard the sliding keels, the long ships go Laden with broken men From these fell shores, Without one word Without one sign, Save the long line Of weary oars Trailing like some winged bird. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO A DEAD LOVER by LOUISE BOGAN CONTRA MORTEM: THE MOON by HAYDEN CARRUTH A TIME TO DANCE by CECIL DAY LEWIS SYNOPSIS OF A FAILED POEM by JAMES GALVIN LET ME NOT HATE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON DOWN BY THE CARIB SEA: 1. SUNRISE IN THE TROPICS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON |