Age and Youth
Letitia Elizabeth Landon 1802 (Chelsea) – 1838 (Cape Coast)
"I tell thee," said the old man, "what is life.
A gulf of troubled waters — where the soul,
Like a vexed bark, is tossed upon the waves,
Of pain and pleasure, by the wavering breath
Of passions. They are winds that drive it on,
But only to destruction and despair.
Methinks that we have known some former state
More glorious than our present ; and the heart
Is haunted by dim memories — shadows left
By past felicity. Hence do we pine
For vain aspirings — hopes that fill the eyes
With bitter tears for their own vanity.
Are we then fallen from some lovely star,
Whose consciousness is as an unknown curse?"
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Submitted by Madeleine Quinn on April 27, 2016
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 113 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCDEFGHIJKLMN |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 613 |
Words | 115 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"Age and Youth" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/44717/age-and-youth>.
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