Ascent To The Sierras

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



Beyond the great valley an odd instinctive rising
Begins to possess the ground, the flatness gathers
        to little humps and
barrows, low aimless ridges,
A sudden violence of rock crowns them. The crowded
        orchards end, they
have come to a stone knife;
The farms are finished; the sudden foot of the
        slerra. Hill over hill,
snow-ridge beyond mountain gather
The blue air of their height about them.

               Here at the foot of the pass
The fierce clans of the mountain you'd think for
        thousands of years,
Men with harsh mouths and eyes like the eagles' hunger,
Have gathered among these rocks at the dead hour
Of the morning star and the stars waning
To raid the plain and at moonrise returning driven
Their scared booty to the highlands, the tossing horns
And glazed eyes in the light of torches. The men have
        looked back
Standing above these rock-heads to bark laughter
At the burning granaries and the farms and the town
That sow the dark flat land with terrible rubies...
        lighting the dead...
             It is not true: from this land
The curse was lifted; the highlands have kept peace
        with the valleys; no
blood in the sod; there is no old sword
Keeping grim rust, no primal sorrow. The people are
        all one people, their
homes never knew harrying;
The tribes before them were acorn-eaters, harmless
        as deer. Oh, fortunate
earth; you must find someone
To make you bitter music; how else will you take bonds
        of the future,
against the wolf in men's hearts?

Submitted by Holt

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:18 min read
117

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXXXXXXXXBX XXXBBACXXXBXXXXXXXXXAXXCXBX X
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,540
Words 260
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 11, 27, 1

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

2 fans

Discuss the poem Ascent To The Sierras with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Ascent To The Sierras" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32776/ascent-to-the-sierras>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    15
    hours
    55
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    In what year did Alexander Pope wrote "Farewell to London"?
    A 1715
    B 1744
    C 1725
    D 1690