Ships in the Harbour

Ships in the Harbour

Ships in the Harbour, by John Gould Fletcher, is a collection of poems that explore the beauty and mystery of the sea. The poems are divided into three sections: “The Sea,” “The Ships,” and “The Harbour.” In the first section, Fletcher uses imagery and metaphor to evoke the power and majesty of the sea. In the second section, he focuses on the ships that sail the sea, exploring their history and the lives of their crews. In the third section, he turns his attention to the harbour, exploring its beauty and the people who inhabit it. Throughout the collection, Fletcher’s poems are filled with vivid imagery and a deep appreciation for the sea and its inhabitants.

By John Gould Fletcher · First published 1916 · Genre: Poetry, Nature Writing, Romanticism · 109 words

First lines

Like a flock of great blue cranes Resting upon the water, The ships assemble at morning, when the grey light wakes in the east.

Weary, no longer flying, Over the hissing spindrift, through the ravelled clutching sea; No longer over the tops of the waves spinning along north-eastward, In a great irregular wedge before the trade-wind far from land.

But drowsy, mournful, silent, Yet under their bulged projecting bows runs the silver foam of the sunlight, And rebelliously they shake out their plumage of sails, wet and heavy with the rain.

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Ships in the Harbour is listed on Textopian as a poem by John Gould Fletcher, dated 1916 CE.

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20th century · American poetry · English poetry · Imagist poetry · assemble · blue · bows · bulged · clutching · drowsy · east · flock

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