W. H. Auden [1907-1973] : Poetry : Look, Stranger
Look, Stranger : Text
Look, stranger, on this island now
The leaping light for your delight discovers,
Stand stable here
And silent be,
That through the channels of the ear
May wander like a river
The swaying sound of the sea.
Here at a small field’s ending pause
Where the chalk wall falls to the foam and its tall ledges
Oppose the pluck
And knock of the tide,
And the shingle scrambles after the sucking surf,
And a gull lodges
A moment on its sheer side.
Far off like floating seeds the ships
Diverge on urgent voluntary errands,
And this full view
Indeed may enter
And move in memory as now these clouds do,
That pass the harbour mirror
And all the summer through the water saunter.
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Important Word-notes
stranger (n.) : foreigner, unfamiliar or unknown person
island (n.) : a piece of land surrounded by water
leaping (participle adj.) : springing
delight (n.) : joy, pleasure, happiness
discovers (v.) : finds
stable (adj.) : firm, fixed
channels (n.) : routes
wander (v.) : move aimlessly
swaying (participle adj.) : moving back and forth
foam (n.) : light frothy mass of bubbles
ledges (n.) : shelves of rocks
oppose (v.) : resist, hinder
pluck (n.) : pulling
knock (n.) : strike
tide (n.) : current, flow
shingle (n.) : thin piece of stone
scrambles (v.) : mixes together confusedly
sucking (participle adj.) : drawing in and out
surf (n.) : waves, foam formed by waves
gull (n.) : seagull, a kind of sea-bird with long wings and webbed feet
lodges (v.) : stays, stops
sheer (adj.) : very steep
far off (adj.) : distant, remote
floating (participle adj.) : resting on water
diverge (v.) : branch off from a common point, go off in different directions from a center
urgent (adj.) : important, emergency
voluntary (adj.) : done by free choice
errands (n.) : tasks or businesses accomplished by short tripping
harbour (n.) : sheltered section of water where ships anchor
saunter (n.) : wander, meander, drift
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