Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


SEQUENCE: 4 by JAMES HARRISON

Poet Analysis

First Line: IN THE WOODS THE LOW RED BRIDGE
Last Line: FLOWING THEN AND STILL.
Subject(s): DEATH; DROWNING; WATER; DEAD, THE;

In the woods the low red bridge,
under it and above the flowing water,
spiders roost in girder's
rust and scale, flaking to touch.
Swift clear water. Soiled sand,
slippery green moss on rock face.
From the red bridge, years back
he dove into an eddy catching
the river's backward bend and swirl,
wishing not to swim on or in
as a duck and fish
but to be the water herself,
flowing then and still.



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