cf-banner.jpg
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Lighthouse poetry ? #30514 10/30/01 03:29 AM
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2
A
apanda Offline OP
Junior Member
OP Offline
Junior Member
A
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2
I'm looking for a collection of Lighthouse poetry. I noticed that the coffee table book "Lighthouses" by Vogel has some excerpts of poems talking about lighthouses, but nothing "full-blown" plus the book is so bulky. Great for the pictures it shows, but not for beautiful poems it uses to describe the wonder of the lighthouse. Any help is most appreciated.

Re: Lighthouse poetry ? #30515 10/30/01 01:36 PM
A
Anonymous
Unregistered
Anonymous
Unregistered
A
IT'S BRASSWORK
By Fred Morong

Oh what is the bane of a lightkeeper’s life
That causes him worry, struggle and strife,
That makes him use cuss words and beat on his wife?
It’s BRASSWORK

What makes him look ghastly consumptive and thin,
What robes him of health, vigor and vim,
And causes despair and drives him to sin?
It’s BRASSWORK

The devil himself could never invent,
A material causing more world wide lament,
And in Uncle Sam’s service about ninety percent
Is BRASSWORK

The lamp in the tower, reflector and shade,
The tools and accessories pass in the parade,
As a matter of fact the whole outfit is made
Of BRASSWORK

The oil containers I polish until
My poor back is broken, aching and still,
Each gallon, each quart, each pint and gill
Is BRASSWORK

I lay down to slumber all weary and sore,
I walk in my sleep, I awake with a snore,
And I’m shining the knob on my bedchamber door
That BRASSWORK

From pillar to post rags and polish I tote,
I’m never without them, for you will please note,
That even the buttons I wear on my coat,
Are BRASSWORK

The machinery, clockwork, and fog signal bell,
The coals hods, the dustpans, the pump in the well,
No I’ll leave it to you mates...If this isn’t...well,
BRASSWORK

I dig, scrub and polish, and work with a might,
And just when I get it all shining and bright,
In come the fog like a thief in the night,
Goodbye BRASSWORK

I start the next day when noontime draws near,
A boatload of summer visitors appear,
For no other reason than to smooch and besmear,
My BRASSWORK

So it goes along all summer, and along in the fall,
Comes the district machinists to overhaul,
and rub dirty paws all over,
My BRASSWORK

And again in the spring, if per chance it may be,
An efficiency star is awarded to me,
I open the package and what do I see?
More BRASSWORK

Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud,
In the short span of life that he is allowed,
If all the lining in every dark cloud,
Is BRASSWORK

And when I have polished until I am cold,
And I have taken my oath to the Heavenly fold,
Will my harp and my crown be made of pure gold?
No! BRASSWORK

The Lightkeeper
Mike

Re: Lighthouse poetry ? #30516 11/04/01 11:07 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 673
K
kscroope Offline
Super Wacko
Offline
Super Wacko
K
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 673
Here's one - I won't tell you who the author is - it's referencing Montauk Point Lighthouse ("the end").

As the daylight grows dimmer,
And the sun shines no more,
I realize, at last,
I've finally neared the shore.

In the distance, my eye
catches it-
The guiding light-
Which fills me with relief,
For the end is in sight.

I will follow it, the beacon light,
For it will lead me home,
As I now face the night,
No longer alone.

As I come to the end,
A new beginning awaits,
This difficult journey's almost over,
But soon, new challenges to face.

------------------
KRISTIN ERIN SCROOPE
kristin@scroope.net
http://www.scroope.net/lighthouses/lhlist.htm

Re: Lighthouse poetry ? #30517 11/04/01 11:10 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 673
K
kscroope Offline
Super Wacko
Offline
Super Wacko
K
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 673

Re: Lighthouse poetry ? #30518 11/11/01 11:51 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 673
K
kscroope Offline
Super Wacko
Offline
Super Wacko
K
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 673
THE LIGHTHOUSE
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The rocky ledge runs far into the sea,
and on its outer point, some miles away,
the lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,
A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.

Even at this distance I can see the tides,
Upheaving, break unheard along its base,
A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides
in the white tip and tremor of the face.

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!

No one alone: from each projecting cape
And perilous reef along the ocean’s verge,
Starts into life a dim, gigantic shape,
Holding its lantern o’er the restless surge.

Like the great giant Christopher it stands
Upon the brink of the tempestuous wave,
Wading far out among the rocks and sands,
The night o’er taken mariner to save.

And the great ships sail outward and return
Bending and bowing o’er the billowy swells,
And ever joyful, as they see it burn
They wave their silent welcome and farewells.

They come forth from the darkness, and their sails
Gleam for a moment only in the blaze,
And eager faces, as the light unveils
Gaze at the tower, and vanish while they gaze.

The mariner remembers when a child,
on his first voyage, he saw it fade and sink
And when returning from adventures wild,
He saw it rise again o'er ocean's brink.

Steadfast, serene, immovable, the same,
Year after year, through all the silent night
Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame,
Shines on that inextinguishable light!

It sees the ocean to its bosum clasp
The rocks and sea-sand with the kiss of peace:
It sees the wild winds lift it in their grasp,
And hold it up, and shake it like a fleece.

The startled waves leap over it; the storm
Smites it with all the scourges of the rain,
And steadily against its solid form
press the great shoulders of the hurricane.

The sea-bird wheeling round it, with the din
of wings and winds and solitary cries,
Blinded and maddened by the light within,
Dashes himself against the glare, and dies.

A new Prometheus, chained upon the rock,
Still grasping in his hand the fire of love,
it does not hear the cry, nor heed the shock,
but hails the mariner with words of love.

"Sail on!" it says: "sail on, ye stately ships!
And with your floating bridge the ocean span;
Be mine to guard this light from all eclipse.
Be yours to bring man neared unto man."

THE DIAMOND BY THE SEA
-Unknown

Like a ruby in an antique brooch with sentiment untold,
The gem in the tower glistens with beauty to behold!
Its glow reflects where sea meets sand in sapphire rivulets
That trickle down with the ebbing tide to the ocean’s treasure chest.

The jewel on the horizon worn with dignity and grace
has romance and security wrapped up in its embrace
Beneath the sky of topaz shining brilliantly
the lighthouse is the brightest gem - The Diamond by the Sea.

THE LIGHTHOUSE LULLABYE
-Unknown

Lay down your head and close your eyes
and rest your weary soul,
For the lighthouse shines through fog, and rain,
and night as black as coal!

Though winds are lashing and waves are crashing
on coral reefs below,
The beacons calls and beckons all
with its majestic beam aglow.

When stars are out and seas are calm
and eventide draws nigh -
The seafarer rocks in a cradle of waves
to The Lighthouse Lullabye.



------------------
KRISTIN ERIN SCROOPE
kristin@scroope.net
http://www.scroope.net/lighthouses/lhlist.htm
http://www.LILighthouseSociety.org

Re: Lighthouse poetry ? #30519 11/22/01 03:04 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 673
K
kscroope Offline
Super Wacko
Offline
Super Wacko
K
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 673
Some from an archive...
Poems to Conjure Images of the Magnificent Jake 48 10-20-1999 12:17 AM http://www.lighthousekeepers.com/forums/Forum1/HTML/000215.html


------------------
KRISTIN ERIN SCROOPE
kristin@scroope.net
http://www.scroope.net/lighthouses/lhlist.htm
http://www.LILighthouseSociety.org

Re: Lighthouse poetry ? #30520 11/29/01 02:27 AM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 673
K
kscroope Offline
Super Wacko
Offline
Super Wacko
K
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 673
Christmas at Plum Island, 1843

The following is a poem written by Sarah D. Bowditch at Plum Island in 1843. We do not yet know whether Sarah lived in the lighthouse, or on one of the farms on the island, but her words give us an insight into the type of the lonely life at a secluded light station. Watch for more of Sarah's writings to appear on our web site in the near future.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christmas--1843

Amid the world's gay throngs to-night
There's mirth and festive glee;
But none amid those hearts so light
Will cast one glimpse on me.

No ray from Hope's bright star is cast
To this lone isle of the sea;
And lonely and sad the Christmas has passed,
And left no mirth for me.

There's many a friend that once caressed,
As merry as merry can be;
But, ah! the one that I love best
Will forget to think of me.

Then turn my soul away from earth;
Look upward still, and see
The starts that shine on the halls of mirth
As brightly beam on thee.

Then let me not murmur at my fate,
Though lonely and sad I may be,
For the angels whose birth we celebrate,
Brought "tidings of joy" to me.

Sarah D. Bowditch
http://www.lilighthousesociety.org/historicalcollection/christmas1843.htm

Save the Plum Island Lighthouse http://www.lilighthousesociety.org/projects/saveplumisland/default.htm http://www.lighthousekeepers.com/forums/Forum36/HTML/000017.html


Moderated by  PFC 

Forum Statistics
Forums39
Topics16,978
Posts184,640
Members2,579
Most Online10,155
Jan 14th, 2020
Who's Online Now
0 registered members (), 1,208 guests, and 2 spiders.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
SafeHarbor, Toots, Bluffhill, phtate, TexLight2022
2579 Registered Users
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.2