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larryhammerFor Poetry Monday, returning to the sea, or at least the sea-shore:
In Romney Marsh, John Davidson
As I went down to Dymchurch Wall,
I heard the South sing o’er the land;
I saw the yellow sunlight fall
On knolls where Norman churches stand.
And ringing shrilly, taut and lithe,
Within the wind a core of sound,
The wire from Romney town to Hythe
Alone its airy journey wound.
A veil of purple vapour flowed
And trail’d its fringe along the Straits;
The upper air like sapphire glow’d;
And roses fill’d Heaven’s central gates.
Masts in the offing wagg’d their tops;
The swinging waves peal’d on the shore;
The saffron beach, all diamond drops
And beads of surge, prolong’d the roar.
As I came up from Dymchurch Wall,
I saw above the Downs’ low crest
The crimson brands of sunset fall,
Flicker and fade from out the west.
Night sank: like flakes of silver fire
The stars in one great shower came down;
Shrill blew the wind; and shrill the wire
Rang out from Hythe to Romney town.
The darkly shining salt sea drops
Streamed as the waves clashed on the shore;
The beach, with all its organ stops
Pealing again, prolong’d the roar.
Davidson was one of the poets of the 1890s that T.S. Eliot read and learned from, especially such poems as "Thirty Bob a Week" and "In the Isle of Dogs" (echoes of which can be heard in "The Wasteland").
---L.
Subject quote from "In the Isle of Dogs," John Davidson.
In Romney Marsh, John Davidson
As I went down to Dymchurch Wall,
I heard the South sing o’er the land;
I saw the yellow sunlight fall
On knolls where Norman churches stand.
And ringing shrilly, taut and lithe,
Within the wind a core of sound,
The wire from Romney town to Hythe
Alone its airy journey wound.
A veil of purple vapour flowed
And trail’d its fringe along the Straits;
The upper air like sapphire glow’d;
And roses fill’d Heaven’s central gates.
Masts in the offing wagg’d their tops;
The swinging waves peal’d on the shore;
The saffron beach, all diamond drops
And beads of surge, prolong’d the roar.
As I came up from Dymchurch Wall,
I saw above the Downs’ low crest
The crimson brands of sunset fall,
Flicker and fade from out the west.
Night sank: like flakes of silver fire
The stars in one great shower came down;
Shrill blew the wind; and shrill the wire
Rang out from Hythe to Romney town.
The darkly shining salt sea drops
Streamed as the waves clashed on the shore;
The beach, with all its organ stops
Pealing again, prolong’d the roar.
Davidson was one of the poets of the 1890s that T.S. Eliot read and learned from, especially such poems as "Thirty Bob a Week" and "In the Isle of Dogs" (echoes of which can be heard in "The Wasteland").
---L.
Subject quote from "In the Isle of Dogs," John Davidson.
no subject
Date: 17 October 2016 07:52 pm (UTC)The stars in one great shower came down;
Shrill blew the wind; and shrill the wire
Rang out from Hythe to Romney town.
That's almost too much, but somehow isn't. Nice. Thank you.
no subject
Date: 17 October 2016 09:39 pm (UTC)