The Little Black Cormorant
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
By inlet and islet and wide river reaches,
By lake and lagoon I'm at home,
Yet oft' the far forests of blue-gum and beeches
About the broad ranges I roam,
'There's a strange, sombre bird with a hook in his beak.'
'Tis the little black cormorant raiding your creek.
And woe to the fisher and woe to the fishes
A gourmand I freely confess
When I come a-searching for succulent dishes,
Arrayed in my funeral dress,
Then the fishermen rave, and in anger they speak:
'There's a little black cormorant coming up creek!'
But I'm quick and I'm cunning, as many a greyling,
A blackfish, a trout or a bream
Has known to his sorrow when down I go sailing
To hunt him beneath the dark stream.
To my cavernous maw then they all come alike,
And 'tis death should the little black cormorant strike.
But I am an outlaw. I'm hunted and harried,
I'm banned from the havens of men.
And woe is to me if to long I have tarried
A shot o'er the waters - and then,
There is reason indeed for my funeral dress,
For, alas, here's a little black cormorant less.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 43 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCC ADADCC CEXEFF GHGHDD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,022 |
Words | 200 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
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"The Little Black Cormorant" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/6706/the-little-black-cormorant>.
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