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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
DESERTED DERRICK, by MARY ELIZABETH BRANTLEY First Line: Towering high above oil-stained lands Last Line: That cast its rays upon the derrick in an early year. Subject(s): Petroleum; Ruins; Wells; Oil | |||
Towering high above oil-stained lands, A rotting wooden structure stands. From the rude frame platform above A great iron cable limply hangs, Its lower end pulled loose from The broken concrete base. Halfway to the ground a splintered ladder Sways. It makes a hollow clatter When the wind comes in wild fury, Darkened by the gritty sand, Swirled from regions to the northwest -- And casts a veil of dust, obliterating space. The slush-pit, once filled with black waste oil, Is but a mass of heavy sinking tar; And where the shanty tool-house once stood near, Now lies a heap of blackened wood. But over the forgotten tower there shines the same bright star That cast its rays upon the derrick in an early year. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE HANDKERCHIEFS OF KHAIBAR KHAN by JOHN UPDIKE THE TRANSFORMATION OF A TEXAS GIRL by JAMES BARTON ADAMS PICTURES OF THE SOUTHWEST: OIL by ELIZABETH KING COWGILL THE VIKING GRAVE AT LADBY by KAREN SWENSON THE YOUNG MYSTIC by LOUIS UNTERMEYER LEARNING TO READ by FRANCES ELLEN WATKINS HARPER THE GRASSHOPPER; TO MY NOBLE FRIEND MR. CHARLES COTTON by RICHARD LOVELACE CUMNOR HALL by WILLIAM JULIUS MICKLE |
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