Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Lighthouse-Inspired Poems

Today I share excerpts from four lighthouse-inspired poems (there are many more).

Lead Kindly Light, by John Henry Newman, 1801-1890:

Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom;
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!

The Lighthouse, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882:

And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright,
Through the deep purple of the twilight air,
Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light
With strange, unearthly splendor in the glare!

Photo by Lou Ann Homan














Pharos Loquitor, by Sir Walter Scott, 1771-1832:

Far in the bosom of the deep,
O'er these wild shelves my watch I keep;
A ruddy gem of changeful light,
Bound on the dusky brow of night,
 
Let the Lower Lights be Burning, by Philip P. Bliss, 1838-1876:
 
Let the lower lights be burning!
Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of Capt. Horatio Williams and his schooner, the Paragon. You can read the story here: www.villagecraftsmen.com/news112115.htm.

3 comments:

  1. I have one, of sorts, in my book, "Lyrics and Poems from the Shenandoah". Enjoy :-)
    http://www.amazon.com/Lyrics-Shenandoah-Robert-Tredick-Foster/dp/1518695809/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449576015&sr=1-1&keywords=lyrics+and+poems+from+the+shenandoah

    The Lighthouse - Robb Foster

    My neighbor has a lighthouse,
    And why? I do not know
    We live up in the mountains here
    Where would the shipping go?

    Red and white and well detected
    Tolling silent warning
    Looking rather lonely there
    I pass it every morning

    It's job is well defined, I think
    Out standing with her roses
    To keep the ships that just might come
    My guess, she presupposes

    High and dry and quite protected
    Shining bright at nightfall
    If freighters were to see it there
    Imagine, it'd be frightful!

    To each his own I've often thought
    But now it has me thinking
    Captains, if you pass this way
    Your ship is surely sinking!

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  2. Anonymous8:12 AM

    Another hundred years, with sea level rise unchecked,that mountain lighthouse will be a welcome sight for poet Foster's sea captains.

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