Evening Ebb

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



The ocean has not been so quiet for a long while; five nightherons
Fly shorelong voiceless in the hush of the air
Over the calm of an ebb that almost mirrors their wings.
The sun has gone down, and the water has gone down
From the weed-clad rock, but the distant cloud-wall rises. The
ebb whispers.
Great cloud-shadows float in the opal water.
Through rifts in the screen of the world pale gold gleams, and the
evening
Star suddenly glides like a flying torch.
As if we had not been meant to see her; rehearsing behind
The screen of the world for another audience.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 11, 2023

31 sec read
82

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABACDAEDFGHA
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 561
Words 106
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

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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