POEMS BY MARIANNE MOORE
HE MADE THIS SCREEN
not of silver nor of coral,
but of weatherbeaten laurel.
but of weatherbeaten laurel.
Here, he introduced a sea
uniform like tapestry;
uniform like tapestry;
here, a fig-tree; there, a face;
there, a dragon circling space—
there, a dragon circling space—
designating here, a bower;
there, a pointed passion-flower.
there, a pointed passion-flower.
TALISMAN
Under a splintered mast,
torn from ship and cast
near her hull,
torn from ship and cast
near her hull,
a stumbling shepherd found
embedded in the ground,
a sea-gull
embedded in the ground,
a sea-gull
of lapis lazuli,
a scarab of the sea,
with wings spread—
a scarab of the sea,
with wings spread—
curling its coral feet,
parting its beak to greet
men long dead.
parting its beak to greet
men long dead.
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