Low tide at st. andrews
Emily Pauline Johnson 1861 – 1913
(NEW BRUNSWICK)
The long red flats stretch open to the sky,
Breathing their moisture on the August air.
The seaweeds cling with flesh-like fingers where
The rocks give shelter that the sands deny;
And wrapped in all her summer harmonies
St. Andrews sleeps beside her sleeping seas.
The far-off shores swim blue and indistinct,
Like half-lost memories of some old dream.
The listless waves that catch each sunny gleam
Are idling up the waterways land-linked,
And, yellowing along the harbour's breast,
The light is leaping shoreward from the west.
And naked-footed children, tripping down,
Light with young laughter, daily come at eve
To gather dulse and sea clams and then heave
Their loads, returning laden to the town,
Leaving a strange grey silence when they go,--
The silence of the sands when tides are low.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 29, 2023
- 41 sec read
- 134 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBACC DEEDFF GHHGII |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 820 |
Words | 138 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6 |
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"Low tide at st. andrews" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/12594/low-tide-at-st.-andrews>.
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