The Shower
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
The landscape, like the awed face of a child,
Grew curiously blurred; a hush of death
Fell on the fields, and in the darkened wild
The zephyr held its breath.
No wavering glamour-work of light and shade
Dappled the shivering surface of the brook;
The frightened ripples in their ambuscade
Of willows thrilled and shook.
The sullen day grew darker, and anon
Dim flashes of pent anger lit the sky;
With rumbling wheels of wrath came rolling on
The storm's artillery.
The cloud above put on its blackest frown,
And then, as with a vengeful cry of pain,
The lightning snatched it, ripped and flung it down
In ravelled shreds of rain:
While I, transfigured by some wondrous art,
Bowed with the thirsty lilies to the sod,
My empty soul brimmed over, and my heart
Drenched with the love of God.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 47 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB XCAC DXDX DDDD EFEF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 776 |
Words | 143 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"The Shower" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/21117/the-shower>.
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