Atavism
Elinor Wylie 1885 (Somerville) – 1928
I always was afraid of Somes's Pond:
Not the little pond, by which the willow stands,
Where laughing boys catch alewives in their hands
In brown, bright shallows; but the one beyond.
There, when the frost makes all the birches burn
Yellow as cow-lilies, and the pale sky shines
Like a polished shell between black spruce and pines,
Some strange thing tracks us, turning where we turn.
You'll say I dream it, being the true daughter
Of those who in old times endured this dread.
Look! Where the lily-stems are showing red
A silent paddle moves below the water,
A sliding shape has stirred them like a breath;
Tall plumes surmount a painted mask of death.
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Submitted by halel on July 14, 2020
Modified on April 01, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 15 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBACDDC EFFEGG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 640 |
Words | 116 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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"Atavism" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/54176/atavism>.
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