Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE BRIDGE BUILDER, by ISABEL ECCLESTONE MACKAY Poet's Biography First Line: Of old the winds came romping down Last Line: Lay silent, far below! Subject(s): Buildings & Builders | ||||||||
OF old the Winds came romping down, Oh, wild and free were they! They bent the prairie grasses low And made a place to play. Then, that the gods might hear their voice On purple days of spring, They sought the tossing, pine-clad slope And made a place to sing. Tired at last of song and play, They found a canyon deep And in its echoing silences They made a place to weep. Man came, a small and feeble thing, And looked upon the plain. "Lo, this is mine," he said, and set A seal of golden grain. Upon the mountain slopes he gazed, Where the great pine trees grow, Then gashed their mighty sides and laid Their singing branches low. He clung upon the canyon's ledge And from its topmost ridge, Above its vast and awful deeps, He built himself a bridge. A bauble in the light of day, New gilded by the sun, It seemed like some great, golden web By giant spider spun! The homeless winds came rushing down Oh they were wild and free! And angry for their stolen plain And for their felled pine tree And angryangry most of all For that brave bridge of gold! With deep-mouthed shout they hurtled down To tear it from its hold The girders shrieked, the cables strained And shuddered at the roar Yet, when the winds had passed, the bridge Held firmly as before! Still fairy-like and frail it shone Against the sunset's glow But one, the builder of the bridge, Lay silent, far below! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BUILDINGS by WENDELL BERRY INCONGRUOUS BUILDERS by AIME CESAIRE HAIL TEESSIDE! by CECIL DAY LEWIS BUILDING A PAINTING A HOME by BOB HICOK A CHRISTMAS CHILD by ISABEL ECCLESTONE MACKAY |
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