PoemHunter.com   
The Island of Skyros by John Masefield   
Participate in our survey Search:
Search Poems, Poets, Quotations and Lyrics   
Home Poets Poems Lyrics Quotations Music Forum Member Area Poetry E-Books
 
John Masefield
#172
on top 500 Poets
John Masefield
(1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967 / Herefordshire / England)
27 poems of John Masefield
click to download
Poet's Page  Biography  Poems  Quotations  Comments   Stats  
 
<< prev. poem Poems by John Masefield : 37 / 40 next poem >>
  
  The Island of Skyros

User Rating:

7.0 /10
(3 votes)



  Here, where we stood together, we three men,
Before the war had swept us to the East
Three thousand miles away, I stand again
And hear the bells, and breathe, and go to feast.
We trod the same path, to the selfsame place,
Yet here I stand, having beheld their graves,
Skyros whose shadows the great seas erase,
And Seddul Bahr that ever more blood craves.
So, since we communed here, our bones have been
Nearer, perhaps, than they again will be,
Earth and the worldwide battle lie between,
Death lies between, and friend-destroying sea.
Yet here, a year ago, we talked and stood
As I stnad now, with pulses beating blood.

I saw her like a shadow on the sky
In the last light, a blur upon the sea,
Then the gale's darkness put the shadow by,
But from one grave that island talked to me;
And, in the midnight, in the breaking storm,
I saw its blackness and a blinking light,
And thought, "So death obscures your gentle form,
So memory strives to make the darkness bright;
And, in that heap of rocks, your body lies,
Part of the island till the planet ends,
My gentle comrade, beautiful and wise,
Part of this crag this bitter surge offends,
While I, who pass, a little obscure thing,
War with this force, and breathe, and am its king."


John Masefield

Submitted Date Friday, January 03, 2003



Read poems about / on: war, sea, memory, death, beautiful, together, friend, light, sky

<< prev. poem Poems by John Masefield : 37 / 40 next poem >>
 
  Comments about this poem (The Island of Skyros by John Masefield )

There is no comment submitted by members..

 
People who read Masefield also read

 
 
  Top 500 Poems

  1. Phenomenal Woman
    Maya Angelou
  2. Still I Rise
    Maya Angelou
  3. If You Forget Me
    Pablo Neruda
  4. Dreams
    Langston Hughes
  5. The Road Not Taken
    Robert Frost
  6. Annabel Lee
    Edgar Allan Poe
  7. I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You
    Pablo Neruda
  8. If
    Rudyard Kipling
  9. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
    Maya Angelou
  10. A Dream Within A Dream
    Edgar Allan Poe
The complete list of Top 500 Poems >>
 
 

(c) Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge..  About Us | Copyright notice | Privacy statement | Help
2/17/2012 10:07:18 AM. #.# You Are Here: The Island of Skyros by John Masefield

Home | Poets | Poems | Free Poetry eBooks | Contests | Sites | Submit a Poem | Manage Your Poems | Game Gar | Oyun | Contact Us

Christmas Poems | Love Poems | Pablo Neruda | Death Poems | Sad Poems | Birthday Poems | Wedding Poems | Nature Poems | Sorry Poems 

[Hata Bildir]