Get Your Premium Membership

Famous Deep Water Poems by Famous Poets

These are examples of famous Deep Water poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous deep water poems. These examples illustrate what a famous deep water poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).

See also:

Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry
...d-bench
for that treasure, that ancient heirloom. (ll. 1896-1903a)

Then Beowulf departed in the ship, dredging
the deep water, giving up the Danish land.
A certain sea-cloak was affixed to the mast,
the sail by its rope. The swimming wood resounded.
The wind never hindered the wave-float
on its journey over the surf. The sea-goer travelled,
foamy-necked fleeting forth over the waves,
with a bound prow, over the sea currents,
until they could perceive the Geatish c...Read more of this...
by Anonymous,



...ams of death;
Thou madest Pluto bear thin element;
And now, O winged Chieftain! thou hast sent
A moon-beam to the deep, deep water-world,
To find Endymion.

 On gold sand impearl'd
With lily shells, and pebbles milky white,
Poor Cynthia greeted him, and sooth'd her light
Against his pallid face: he felt the charm
To breathlessness, and suddenly a warm
Of his heart's blood: 'twas very sweet; he stay'd
His wandering steps, and half-entranced laid
His head upon a tuft of straggl...Read more of this...
by Keats, John
...Of a world beyond our door—
Terrors to the life of man
 That the highroad held in store.

Of mermaids' doleful game
 In deep water I heard tell,
Of lofty dragons belching flame,
 Of the hornèd fiend of Hell.

Tales like these were too absurd
 For my laughter-loving ear:
Soon I mocked at all I heard,
 Though with cause indeed for fear.

Now I know the mermaid kin
 I find them bound by natural laws:
They have neither tail nor fin,
 But are deadlier for that cause.

Dragons have...Read more of this...
by Graves, Robert
...wore a costume of trout fishing in America. He wore

mountains on his elbows and bluejays on the collar of his

shirt. Deep water flowed through the lilies that were entwined

about his shoelaces. A bullfrog kept croaking in his watch

pocket and the air was filled with the sweet smell of ripe

blackberry bushes.

 He wore trout fishing in America as a costume to hide

his own appearance from the world while he performed his

deeds of murder in the night.

Who would have exp...Read more of this...
by Brautigan, Richard
...I fish for words
to say what I fish for,
half-catch sometimes.

I have caught little pan fish flashing sunlight
(yellow perch, crappies, blue-gills),
lighthearted reeled them in,
filed them on stringers on the shore.
A nice mess, we called them,
and ate with our fingers, laughing.

Once, dreaming of fish in far-off waters,
I hooked a two-foot carp in Michi...Read more of this...
by Emanuel, James A



...le hour,
        Therefore the dual Mystery suits me well.

                           Sitting alone,
   The tank's deep water is cool and sweet,
   Soothing and fresh to the wayworn feet,
           Dreaming, under the Tamarind shade,
           One silently thanks the men who made
   So green a place in this bitter land
                Of sunburnt sand.

   The peacocks scream and the grey Doves coo,
   Little green, talkative Parrots woo,
   And small grey Squ...Read more of this...
by Nicolson, Adela Florence Cory
...I thought I was growing wings—
it was a cocoon.

I thought, now is the time to step
into the fire—
it was deep water.

Eschatology is a word I learned
as a child: the study of Last Things;

facing my mirror—no longer young,
 the news—always of death,
 the dogs—rising from sleep and clamoring
 and howling, howling,

nevertheless
I see for a moment
that's not it: it is
the First Things.

Word after word
floats through the glass.
Towards me....Read more of this...
by Levertov, Denise
...ed the troops to commence the battle,
With sixty big guns that loudly did rattle. 

The Sikhs were posted on courses of deep water,
But the British in a short time soon did them scatter.
Whilst the British cannonading loudly hums,
And in the distance were heard the enemy's drums. 

The the Sikhs began to fight with their artillery,
But their firing didn't work very effectively;
Then the British lines advanced on them right steadily,
Which was a most inspiring sight to see. 

...Read more of this...
by McGonagall, William Topaz
...o anchor in Aboukir Bay,
And in a compact line of battle, the leading vessel lay
Close to a shoal, along a line of very deep water,
There they lay, all eager to begin the murderous slaughter. 

The French force consisted of thirteen ships of the line,
As fine as ever sailed on the salt sea brine;
Besides four Frigates carrying 1,196 guns in all,
Also 11,230 men as good as ever fired a cannon ball. 

The number of the English ships were thirteen in all,
And carrying 1012 guns,...Read more of this...
by McGonagall, William Topaz
...n Gate,
 And a wealthy wife is she;
She breeds a breed o' rovin' men
 And casts them over sea.

And some are drowned in deep water,
 And some in sight o' shore,
And word goes back to the weary wife
 And ever she sends more.

For since that wife had gate or gear,
 Or hearth or garth or bield,
She willed her sons to the white harvest,
 And that is a bitter yield.

She wills her sons to the wet ploughing,
 To ride the horse of tree,
And syne her sons come back again
 Far-spent f...Read more of this...
by Kipling, Rudyard
...Memory: I can take my head and strike it on a wall on Cumberland Island 
Where the night tide came crawling under the stairs came up the first 
Two or three steps and the cottage stood on poles all night 
With the sea sprawled under it as we dreamed of the great fin circling 
Under the bedroom floor. In daylight there was my first brassy taste of beer 
And...Read more of this...
by Dickey, James
...ngrel Grey. 

'Tis a trick, no doubt, that some horses learn; 
When the floods are out they will splash along 
In girth-deep water, and twist and turn 
From hidden channel and billabong, 
Never mistaking the road to go; 
for a man may guess -- but the horses know. 

I was camping out with my youngest son -- 
Bit of a nipper, just learnt to speak -- 
In an empty hut on the lower run, 
Shooting and fishing in Conroy's Creek. 
The youngster toddled about all day 
And there with ...Read more of this...
by Paterson, Andrew Barton
...d the first I cannot dare
Recollect even in prayer.



x x x

In boat or in horsecart
This way you cannot go
Deep water stands and lingers
In the decrepit snow
Surrounding the mansion
From every side by now..
Ah! Closely wails it over
The same Robinson Crusoe.
The sled, the skies, the horse
He will come by to see,
And later on the couch
He sits and waits for me
And with a short spore
He tears the rug in two.
Now the brief smile of mine
The mirror will ...Read more of this...
by Akhmatova, Anna

Dont forget to view our wonderful member Deep Water poems.


Book: Reflection on the Important Things