Vulture
Robinson Jeffers 1887 (Allegheny) – 1962 (Carmel-by-the-Sea)
I had walked since dawn and lay down to rest on a bare hillside
Above the ocean. I saw through half-shut eyelids a vulture wheeling
high up in heaven,
And presently it passed again, but lower and nearer, its orbit
narrowing,
I understood then
That I was under inspection. I lay death-still and heard the flight-
feathers
Whistle above me and make their circle and come nearer.
I could see the naked red head between the great wings
Bear downward staring. I said, 'My dear bird, we are wasting time
here.
These old bones will still work; they are not for you.' But how
beautiful
he looked, gliding down
On those great sails; how beautiful he looked, veering away in the
sea-light
over the precipice. I tell you solemnly
That I was sorry to have disappointed him. To be eaten by that beak
and
become part of him, to share those wings and those eyes--
What a sublime end of one's body, what an enskyment; what a life
after death.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 581 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCDBEFGHIJKLMNOFPQRSTU |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 972 |
Words | 173 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 23 |
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"Vulture" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32906/vulture>.
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