Man looking into the sea,
taking the view from those who have as much right to it as
you have to it yourself,
it is human nature to stand in the middle of a thing,
but you cannot stand in the middle of this;
the sea has nothing to give but a well excavated grave.
The firs stand in a procession, each with an emerald turkey—
foot at the top,
reserved as their contours, saying nothing;
repression, however, is not the most obvious characteristic of
the sea;
the sea is a collector, quick to return a rapacious look.
There are others besides you who have worn that look—
whose expression is no longer a protest; the fish no longer
investigate them
for their bones have not lasted:
men lower nets, unconscious of the fact that they are
desecrating a grave,
and row quickly away-the blades of the oars
moving together like the feet of water-spiders as if there were
no such thing as death.
The wrinkles progress among themselves in a phalanx—
beautiful under networks of foam,
and fade breathlessly while the sea rustles in and out of the
seaweed;
the birds swim through the air at top speed, emitting cat-calls
as heretofore—
the tortoise-shell scourges about the feet of the cliffs, in motion
beneath them;
and the ocean, under the pulsation of lighthouses and noise of
bell-bouys,
advances as usual, looking as if it were not that ocean in which
dropped things are bound to sink—
in which if they turn and twist, it is neither with volition nor
consciousness.
End of the poem
15 random poems
- Ольга Берггольц – Борису Корнилову
- Юлия Друнина – Царевна
- The Appointment by Ruth Padel
- Philomela by Sir Philip Sidney
- Sir Philip Sidney; Astrophel and Stella: XXIII by Sir Philip Sidney
- Владимир Британишский – В Емуртлинском форпосте сибирских драгун
- Before Day by Siegfried Sassoon
- Sonnet CXLIII by William Shakespeare
- Concealment
- With A Copy Of Shakespeares Sonnets On Leaving College
- Sonnet 93: So shall I live, supposing thou art true by William Shakespeare
- Million Man March Poem by Maya Angelou
- Иннокентий Анненский – Листы
- Marsh Hymns by Sidney Lanier
- Яков Полонский – Поэт и гражданин, он призван был учить
Some external links:
Duckduckgo.com – the alternative in the US
Quant.com – a search engine from France, and also an alternative, at least for Europe
Yandex – the Russian search engine (it’s probably the best search engine for image searches).