People And A Heron

Robinson Jeffers 1887 (Allegheny) – 1962 (Carmel-by-the-Sea)



A desert of weed and water-darkened stone under my western windows
The ebb lasted all afternoon,
And many pieces of humanity, men, women, and children, gathering shellfish,
Swarmed with voices of gulls the sea-breach.
At twilight they went off together, the verge was left vacant, an
evening heron
Bent broad wings over the black ebb,
And left me wondering why a lone bird was dearer to me that  many people.
Well: rare is dear: but also I suppose
Well reconciled with the world but not with our own natures
we grudge to see them
Reflected on the world for a mirror.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
49

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEEFGAHIJ
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 563
Words 103
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

Robinson Jeffers

John Robinson Jeffers was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. more…

All Robinson Jeffers poems | Robinson Jeffers Books

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