Belated Bard
The songs I made from joy of earth
In wanton wandering,
Are rapturous with Maytime mirth
And ectasy of Spring.
But all the songs I sing today
Take tediously the ear:
Novemberishly dark are they
With mortuary fear.
For half a century has gone
Since first I rang a rhyme;
And that is long to linger on
The tolerance of Time.
This blue-veined hand with which I write
Yet answers to my will;
Though four-score years I count to-night
I am unsilent still.
"Senile old fool!" I hear you say;
"Beside the dying fire
You huddle and stiff-fingered play
Your tired and tinny lyre."
Well, though your patience I may try,
Bear with me yet awhile,
And though you scorn my singing I
Will thank you with a smile.
For I such soul-delighting joy
Have found in simple rhyme,
Since first a happy-hearted boy
I coaxed a word to chime,
That ere I tryst with Mother Earth
Let from my heart arise
A song of youth and starry mirth . . .
Then close my eyes.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 64 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCXCX XDXDEFEF CXCXGHGH IDIDAJAJ |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,061 |
Words | 177 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
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"Belated Bard" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32008/belated-bard>.
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