The sun has set over Spain and the lights of Gibraltar Drive golden piles deep into the dark of the water Where wavering they are lost. The vast Rock Rises behind, an ebon immensity Mutely aloof; and phantom ships that serve it Slip in and out silently Past harbour lights that softly signal The shadowy coasts of Africa. There is no granite fortress fiercely impregnable, Whose huge strength for a hundred years Has shaken the heart of the world's navies And given mankind a synonym of might. It is a soothing apparition of peace, Afloat between two continents; A memory of some earthless emanation That Beauty has made immortal -- and then forgot. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BEARING LEAVES AGAIN by DAVID IGNATOW FINIS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON HOMING BRAVES by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON MY HAPPINESS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON PRAYER AT SUNRISE by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON LINES ON CARMEN SYLVA by EMMA LAZARUS STUDY FOR A GEOGRAPHICAL TRAIL; 5. MARYLAND by CLARENCE MAJOR |