Dock Rats

by Marianne Moore — a poem card from Justes Mots

Marianne Moore's vivid celebration of dock life, capturing sensory details of riverside shipping, animals, and commerce with precision and affection. The poem reveals unexpected beauty in an industrial landscape. Suitable for those who find home and meaning in specific places, or for framing as an ode to urban character and belonging.

There are human beings who seem to regard the place as craftily
as we do—who seem to feel that it is a good place to come
home to. On what a river; wide—twinkling like a chopped sea under some
of the finest shipping in the

world: the square-rigged four-master, the liner, the battleship, like the two-
thirds submerged section of an iceberg; the tug—strong moving thing,
dipping and pushing, the bell striking as it comes; the steam yacht, lying…

Themes: love · new-baby · wedding · friendship