
The poem tells the story of a woman who has been wronged and seeks revenge against her lover who betrayed her. She becomes a seductress, luring men to their deaths with her beauty and charm. The narrator describes her as a mysterious and deadly figure, comparing her to a flower that blooms in the Arctic wilderness.
By Eugene Field · First published 1895 · Genre: Poetry, Romanticism, Nature Writing · 111 words
(Skans in Love.)
I am like the wretched seal / Wounded by a barbed device -- / Helpless fellow! how I bellow, / Floundering on the jagged ice!
Sitka's beauty is the steel / That hath wrought this piteous woe: / Yet would I rather die / Than recover from the blow!
Still I'd rather live than die, / Grievous though my torment be; / Smite away, but, I pray, / Smite no victim else than me!
Poetry · American Literature · 19th Century · Nature · Wilderness · Alaskan Frontier · Ballad · Folklore · Mythology · Legends · Tales · Storytelling
Alaskan Balladry. III is listed on Textopian as a poem by Eugene Field, dated 1895 CE.
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