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Friday, September 20, 2013

Poetry Friday -- Ebb and Flow


Wikimedia Commons photo 


THE TIDE RISES, THE TIDE FALLS
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
     And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
     And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
     And the tide rises, the tide falls.


Tabatha has the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Opposite of Indifference. I won't be able to visit the round up this week -- see you next week!

11 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:50 AM

    A lovely reminder of the rhythm of life, Mary Lee. Thanks for sharing.

    Hope all is well!

    Catherine

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    1. All is well...I'll be at the Casting for Recovery retreat all weekend.

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  2. Hi, Mary Lee. This is such a beautiful poem. There's a recording of it on the Ted Jacobs CD "The Days Gone By." When I read the poem today, I hear it as a song.

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  3. Beautiful classic poem -- more meaningful ever since I visited Longfellow house in Portland and saw a plaque at the Portland Head Light marking where he supposedly sat to compose poetry. :)

    Enjoy the retreat!

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  4. What a poem. It goes with my time at the coast. Enjoy your weekend.

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  5. Hooray for this post and your weekend plans. Enjoy!!

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  6. What a deliciously mysterious ending. Thanks for posting this beautiful classic.

    Violet N.

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  7. Love the rhythm of the sea, the rhythm of our days, all the rhythms we live our life by.

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  8. Hi there Mary Lee. Reminds me of my week-long vacation at the beach. Beautiful.

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  9. Longing for that peaceful feeling one gets from walking along the beach at twilight.

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  10. I absolutely loved the word choice in your poem. It was so effective and each stanza brought new images of the rhythm, as many said, of our days.

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