Analysis of Tarnished Harp
Then, then when I was green
And all my strings had sheen
My ev’ry note would tremble.
The wind made primitive tempo and time,
My melody came from the bright sunshine.
My tone was from a bird perched up in the pine.
When plucked, the sound I made was tingling sweet,
The king's court danced ‘round and ‘round my feet,
The angels sang their hymns, my voice so gentle.
New and whole, fair my soul.
Time has run
Tunes are sung,
The harpist gone.
How to find my song when innocence has flown.
Now, now that I am worn,
Shoulder is scratched and torn,
So tarnished, dull and weakened.
Again, I'll make my frame both true and strong,
And too I'll change my screech into a song,
Mend broken strings with new ones, short and long.
My youth is gone but age gives mellow mood.
The music comes from me all breathless good.
The planxties played are Carolan, unique-ned,
Now I'm whole, waxed my soul.
Time has run,
Tunes are sung,
The harpist gone.
How to find my song when innocence has flown.
Time has run
Tunes are sung,
Innocence gone.
Wisdom's truth has grown,
And life has shaped my song.
A beautiful new song,
A beautiful new song.
Scheme | aabxccddb e FGHI jjxkkkxxxe FGHI FGhikKK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (29%) |
Metre | 111111 011111 111110 011100101 110011011 11110111001 11011111001 011110111 01011111110 101111 111 111 0101 11111110011 111111 101101 1101010 0111111101 0111110101 1101111101 1111111101 0101111101 0111100011 111111 111 111 0101 11111110011 111 111 1001 1111 011111 010011 010011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,160 |
Words | 247 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 1, 4, 10, 4, 7 |
Lines Amount | 35 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 144 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
About this poem
An old harp with many age-induced flaws speaks of its refurbishment. This is a song about aging and accepting the limitations that aging brings, along with the strengths.
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Written on August 15, 2022
Submitted by jassnaround on November 11, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 48 Views
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"Tarnished Harp" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 17 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/146070/tarnished-harp>.
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