O glittering, heartless, fearful sea, A man's last stand upon your shore! On canyons lean and gray mesquite, Where travelers die and spirits flee; And on the waves death hovers o'er, The scarred hills grin from their retreat. No birds are joyous on your breast, Nor tree nor flower adorns that beach. A glistening, sparkling, cruel light Comes stabbing from the awful west And dances, while the eyes beseech The hastening of the desert night. O Salton Sea! dead apples yours, Till man defied your Circean chain And saw the waste through prophet's eyes. Now waves the harvest green, and lures Hot love to mate, while brawn and brain Have forced a gate to Paradise. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LEARNING TO READ by FRANCES ELLEN WATKINS HARPER SKIPPER IRESON'S RIDE by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER THE BOY AND THE BROOK by LEO ALISHAN THE BOTTOM DRAWER by MARY A. BARR HARMONIES OF THE EVENING by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE ON A MINIATURE by HENRY AUGUSTIN BEERS THE ATAVISTIC MAID by BERTON BRALEY |