Shine, Perishing Republic
Robinson Jeffers 1887 (Allegheny) – 1962 (Carmel-by-the-Sea)
While this America settles in the mould of its vulgarity, heavily thickening
to empire
And protest, only a bubble in the molten mass, pops and sighs out, and the
mass hardens,
I sadly smiling remember that the flower fades to make fruit, the fruit rots
to make earth.
Out of the mother; and through the spring exultances, ripeness and deca-
dence; and home to the mother.
You making haste haste on decay: not blameworthy; life is good, be it stub-
bornly long or suddenly
A mortal splendor: meteors are not needed less than mountains:
shine, perishing republic.
But for my children, I would have them keep their distance from the thick-
ening center; corruption
Never has been compulsory, when the cities lie at the monster's feet there
are left the mountains.
And boys, be in nothing so moderate as in love of man, a clever servant,
insufferable master.
There is the trap that catches noblest spirits, that caught--they say--
God, when he walked on earth.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 16, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 335 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXCXDAB XXCXXXXCXBXD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 997 |
Words | 167 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 12 |
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"Shine, Perishing Republic" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32847/shine,-perishing-republic>.
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