Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


SEA GODS: 1 by HILDA DOOLITTLE

Poet Analysis

First Line: THEY SAY THERE IS NO HOPE
Last Line: ALONG YOUR RAGGED BEACH.
Subject(s): BIBLE; SEA; OCEAN;

THEY say there is no hope --
sand -- drift -- rocks -- rubble of the sea --
the broken hulk of a ship,
hung with shreds of rope,
pallid under the cracked pitch.
they say there is no hope
to conjure you --
no whip of the tongue to anger you --
no hate of words
you must rise to refute.
They say you are twisted by the sea,
you are cut apart
by wave-break upon wave-break,
that you are misshapen by the sharp rocks,
broken by the rasp and after-rasp.
That you are cut, torn, mangled,
torn by the stress and beat,
no stronger than the strips of sand
along your ragged beach.



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