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Literary
February 3, 1932
Windham County Observer
Putnam, Windham County, Connecticut
What is this article about?
A poem envisioning a phantom port on a ghostly sea where vanished ships, ancient vessels, buccaneers, and whalers anchor eternally, their crews dreaming of unfulfilled hopes, as the poet reflects on the sea's many untold tales.
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OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
The Poet's Corner
BALLAD OF A PHANTOM PORT
There must be a port on a phantom sea.
A Phantom port for the ships now dead.
For here is another ship lost at sea
While its crew sleep on in a lonely bed.
No splintered mast, of the sails no shred,
None of those fifty sailors bold,
Gone without trace of how they sped.
The sea has many a tale untold.
And floats there many an argosy
In quaint-mast galleon with figure-head;
Crafts we only in pictures see,
Viking sloops with their sails outspread
And there are vessels of ancient mold, dead.
Keels that followed where gold's voice led.
The sea has many a tale untold.
And swarthy buccaneers fierce and free,
Who stalk their decks with a ghastly tread,
Repeat old tales with a savage glee.
Whalers, whose spars no shadows shed
Are silently anchored in this roadstead.
These crews not knowing the hopes they hold
Are vain, still dream of the goals long fled.
The sea has many a tale untold
L'ENVOI
O Spectres, over your stories' thread
I've pondered often, the new and old.
But always the answer remains unsaid.
The sea has many a tale untold.
WILLIAM HARE.
BALLAD OF A PHANTOM PORT
There must be a port on a phantom sea.
A Phantom port for the ships now dead.
For here is another ship lost at sea
While its crew sleep on in a lonely bed.
No splintered mast, of the sails no shred,
None of those fifty sailors bold,
Gone without trace of how they sped.
The sea has many a tale untold.
And floats there many an argosy
In quaint-mast galleon with figure-head;
Crafts we only in pictures see,
Viking sloops with their sails outspread
And there are vessels of ancient mold, dead.
Keels that followed where gold's voice led.
The sea has many a tale untold.
And swarthy buccaneers fierce and free,
Who stalk their decks with a ghastly tread,
Repeat old tales with a savage glee.
Whalers, whose spars no shadows shed
Are silently anchored in this roadstead.
These crews not knowing the hopes they hold
Are vain, still dream of the goals long fled.
The sea has many a tale untold
L'ENVOI
O Spectres, over your stories' thread
I've pondered often, the new and old.
But always the answer remains unsaid.
The sea has many a tale untold.
WILLIAM HARE.
What sub-type of article is it?
Poem
What themes does it cover?
Death Mortality
Nature
What keywords are associated?
Phantom Port
Lost Ships
Sea Tales
Ghostly Crews
Untold Stories
What entities or persons were involved?
William Hare.
Literary Details
Title
Ballad Of A Phantom Port
Author
William Hare.
Key Lines
There Must Be A Port On A Phantom Sea.
A Phantom Port For The Ships Now Dead.
The Sea Has Many A Tale Untold.
O Spectres, Over Your Stories' Thread
I've Pondered Often, The New And Old.