Heiress still lives through winter in her Spartan cottage;
Her sheep still graze above the sea.
Her son's a bishop. Her farmer
Is first selectman in our village;
She's in her dotage.
Thirsting for
The hierarchic privacy
Of Queen Victoria's century,
She buys up all
The eyesores facing her shore,
And lets them fall.
The season's ill—
We've lost our summer millionaire,
Who seemed to leap from an L. L. Bean
Catalogue. His nine-knot yawl
Was auctioned off to lobstermen.
A red fox stain covers Blue Hill.
And now our fairy
Decorator brightens his shop for fall;
Robert Lowell is describing the scenery and the economic downturn of Castine, Maine, a place he lived and owned a house with his wife, reference (My Old Flame) A once wealthy millionaire is selling off his yawl (sail boat), L.L Bean is a popular retail store that delivered catalogues.
Skunk Hour