Shiva

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



There is a hawk that is picking the birds out of our sky,
She killed the pigeons of peace and security,
She has taken honesty and confidence from nations and men,
She is hunting the lonely heron of liberty.
She loads the arts with nonsense, she is very cunning
Science with dreams and the state with powers to catch them at last.
Nothing will escape her at last, flying nor running.
This is the hawk that picks out the star's eyes.
This is the only hunter that will ever catch the wild swan;
The prey she will take last is the wild white swan of the beauty of things.
Then she will be alone, pure destruction, achieved and supreme,
Empty darkness under the death-tent wings.
She will build a nest of the swan's bones and hatch  a new brood,
Hang new heavens with new birds, all be renewed.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 03, 2023

45 sec read
89

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBDEDFGHIHJJ
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 784
Words 150
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

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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