Inscribed
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
To the Elect of Love,--or side-by-side
In raptest ecstasy, or sundered wide
By seas that bear no message to or fro
Between the loved and lost of long ago.
So were I but a minstrel, deft
At weaving, with the trembling strings
Of my glad harp, the warp and weft
Of rondels such as rapture sings,--
I'd loop my lyre across my breast,
Nor stay me till my knee found rest
In midnight banks of bud and flower
Beneath my lady's lattice-bower.
And there, drenched with the teary dews,
I'd woo her with such wondrous art
As well might stanch the songs that ooze
Out of the mockbird's breaking heart;
So light, so tender, and so sweet
Should be the words I would repeat,
Her casement, on my gradual sight,
Would blossom as a lily might.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 99 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABB XCACDDEE FGFGHHII |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 715 |
Words | 140 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 8, 8 |
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"Inscribed" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20925/inscribed>.
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