Sandburg gives us a nighttime scene in an abandoned brickyard, where moonlight spills across sand and water. The speaker watches the light move over the ripples, stretch toward the longest shadows, and settle beneath curving willows. As yellow and dusk blend on the water’s surface, the pond takes on a strange, gentle shape—like a wide pansy blooming in the dark. The language feels quiet and almost hypnotic: “lapping sand,” “creep of the wave line,” “fluxions of yellow and dusk” all slow the scene down. There is no human activity here, only the play of light and the slow curves of nature. The speaker seems absorbed, attentive, maybe a little lonely but not unhappy. The mood is hushed, dreamlike, and faintly surreal, as if the ordinary world has been transformed by moonlight into something soft and alive.
Nocturne in a Deserted Brickyard — Summary
Stuff of the moon Runs on the lapping sand Out to the longest shadows. Under the curving willows, And round the creep of the wave line, Fluxions of yellow and dusk on the waters Make a wide dreaming pansy of an old pond in the night.