For Poetry Monday, Millay again:
Inland, Edna St. Vincent Millay
People that build their houses inland,
People that buy a plot of ground
Shaped like a house, and build a house there,
Far from the sea-board, far from the sound
Of water sucking the hollow ledges,
Tons of water striking the shore,—
What do they long for, as I long for
One salt smell of the sea once more?
People the waves have not awakened,
Spanking the boats at the harbor’s head,
What do they long for, as I long for,—
Starting up in my inland bed,
Beating the narrow walls, and finding
Neither a window nor a door,
Screaming to God for death by drowning,—
One salt taste of the sea once more?
---L.
Subject quote from The Triumph of Time, Algernon Charles Swinburne, who continues, “I will go down to her, I and none other, / Close with her, kiss her and mix her with me; / Cling to her, strive with her, hold her fast”
Inland, Edna St. Vincent Millay
People that build their houses inland,
People that buy a plot of ground
Shaped like a house, and build a house there,
Far from the sea-board, far from the sound
Of water sucking the hollow ledges,
Tons of water striking the shore,—
What do they long for, as I long for
One salt smell of the sea once more?
People the waves have not awakened,
Spanking the boats at the harbor’s head,
What do they long for, as I long for,—
Starting up in my inland bed,
Beating the narrow walls, and finding
Neither a window nor a door,
Screaming to God for death by drowning,—
One salt taste of the sea once more?
---L.
Subject quote from The Triumph of Time, Algernon Charles Swinburne, who continues, “I will go down to her, I and none other, / Close with her, kiss her and mix her with me; / Cling to her, strive with her, hold her fast”
no subject
Date: 2 September 2024 07:52 pm (UTC)We live as far as it's possible to be from the sea in the UK (although in the islands that's never actually all that far). The nearest sea coast is in Wales about 70 miles from us
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Date: 3 September 2024 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 3 September 2024 02:02 pm (UTC)Thank you.
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Date: 3 September 2024 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 11 September 2024 12:59 am (UTC)This is one of my favourites. "Screaming to God for death by drowning,--/One salt taste of the sea once more!" I live far from the sea (though in the middle of a river), but I've always loved it.
no subject
Date: 11 September 2024 03:11 pm (UTC)