Mutation
William Cullen Bryant 1794 (Cummington) – 1878 (New York City)
They talk of short-lived pleasure--be it so--
Pain dies as quickly; stern, hard-featured pain
Expires, and lets her weary prisoner go.
The fiercest agonies have shortest reign;
And after dreams of horror, comes again
The welcome morning with its rays of peace.
Oblivion, softly wiping out the stain,
Makes the strong secret pangs of pain to cease:
Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase
Are fruits of innocence and blessedness;
Thus joy, o'erborne and bound, doth still release
His young limbs from the chains that round him press.
Weep not that the world changes--did it keep
A stable, changeless state, 'twere cause indeed to weep.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 143 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABXCBC CXCXDD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 645 |
Words | 107 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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"Mutation" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/40305/mutation>.
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