The city and the sea
Emily Pauline Johnson 1861 – 1913
I
To none the city bends a servile knee;
Purse-proud and scornful, on her heights she stands,
And at her feet the great white moaning sea
Shoulders incessantly the grey-gold sands,--
One the Almighty's child since time began,
And one the might of Mammon, born of clods;
For all the city is the work of man,
But all the sea is God's.
II
And she--between the ocean and the town--
Lies cursed of one and by the other blest:
Her staring eyes, her long drenched hair, her gown,
Sea-laved and soiled and dank above her breast.
She, image of her God since life began,
She, but the child of Mammon, born of clods,
Her broken body spoiled and spurned of man,
But her sweet soul is God's.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 111 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCBCD EFEFCBCD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 694 |
Words | 130 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8 |
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"The city and the sea" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/12616/the-city-and-the-sea>.
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