The Sleep-Worker
Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)
When wilt thou wake, O Mother, wake and see -
As one who, held in trance, has laboured long
By vacant rote and prepossession strong -
The coils that thou hast wrought unwittingly;
Wherein have place, unrealized by thee,
Fair growths, foul cankers, right enmeshed with wrong,
Strange orchestras of victim-shriek and song,
And curious blends of ache and ecstasy? -
Should that morn come, and show thy opened eyes
All that Life's palpitating tissues feel,
How wilt thou bear thyself in thy surprise? -
Wilt thou destroy, in one wild shock of shame,
Thy whole high heaving firmamental frame,
Or patiently adjust, amend, and heal?
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 68 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBA ABBA CDC EED |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 633 |
Words | 108 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 3, 3 |
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"The Sleep-Worker" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/36561/the-sleep-worker>.
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