Classic and Contemporary Poetry
DESERTED DERRICK, by MARY ELIZABETH BRANTLEY First Line: Towering high above oil-stained lands Last Line: That cast its rays upon the derrick in an early year. Subject(s): Petroleum; Ruins; Wells; Oil | ||||||||
Towering high above oil-stained lands, A rotting wooden structure stands. From the rude frame platform above A great iron cable limply hangs, Its lower end pulled loose from The broken concrete base. Halfway to the ground a splintered ladder Sways. It makes a hollow clatter When the wind comes in wild fury, Darkened by the gritty sand, Swirled from regions to the northwest -- And casts a veil of dust, obliterating space. The slush-pit, once filled with black waste oil, Is but a mass of heavy sinking tar; And where the shanty tool-house once stood near, Now lies a heap of blackened wood. But over the forgotten tower there shines the same bright star That cast its rays upon the derrick in an early year. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE HANDKERCHIEFS OF KHAIBAR KHAN by JOHN UPDIKE THE TRANSFORMATION OF A TEXAS GIRL by JAMES BARTON ADAMS PICTURES OF THE SOUTHWEST: OIL by ELIZABETH KING COWGILL MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON THE FALCONER OF GOD by WILLIAM ROSE BENET THE BEGGAR'S HOLIDAY, FR. BEGGAR'S BUSH by JOHN FLETCHER BURIAL OF THE MINNISINK by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW PROMETHEUS BOUND: THE OVERTHROW OF ZEUS by AESCHYLUS LAURENCE BLOOMFIELD IN IRELAND: 8. THE EVICTION by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM |
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