The Story of the Ashes and the Flame
Edwin Arlington Robinson 1869 – 1935
No matter why, nor whence, nor when she came,
There was her place. No matter what men said,
No matter what she was; living or dead,
Faithful or not, he loved her all the same.
The story was as old as human shame,
But ever since that lonely night she fled,
With books to blind him, he had only read
The story of the ashes and the flame.
There she was always coming pretty soon
To fool him back, with penitent scared eyes
That had in them the laughter of the moon
For baffled lovers, and to make him think --
Before she gave him time enough to wink --
Sin's kisses were the keys to Paradise.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 36 sec read
- 93 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAABBA CXCDDX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 597 |
Words | 119 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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"The Story of the Ashes and the Flame" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/10065/the-story-of-the-ashes-and-the-flame>.
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