Analysis of A Little Grey Curl
A little grey curl from my father's head
I find unburned on the hearth,
And give it a place in my diary here,
With a feeling half sadness, half mirth.
For the long white locks are our special pride,
Though he smiles at his daughter's praise;
But, oh, they have grown each year more thin,
Till they are now but a silvery haze.
That wise old head! (though it does grow bald
With the knocks hard fortune may give)
Has a store of faith and hope and trust,
Which have taught him how to live.
Though the hat be old, there's a face below
Which telleth to those who look
The history of a good man's life,
And it cheers like a blessed book.
[A]A peddler of jewels, of clocks, and of books,
Many a year of his wandering youth;
A peddler still, with a far richer pack,
His wares are wisdom and love and truth.
But now, as then, few purchase or pause,
For he cannot learn the tricks of trade;
Little silver he wins, but that which time
Is sprinkling thick on his meek old head.
But there'll come a day when the busy world,
Grown sick with its folly and pride,
Will remember the mild-faced peddler then
Whom it rudely had set aside;
Will remember the wares he offered it once
And will seek to find him again,
Eager to purchase truth, wisdom, and love,
But, oh, it will seek him in vain.
It will find but his footsteps left behind
Along the byways of life,
Where he patiently walked, striving the while
To quiet its tumult and strife.
But the peddling pilgrim has laid down his pack
And gone with his earnings away;
How small will they seem, remembering the debt
Which the world too late would repay.
God bless the dear head! and crown it with years
Untroubled and calmly serene;
That the autumn of life more golden may be
For the heats and the storms that have been.
My heritage none can ever dispute,
My fortune will bring neither strife nor care;
'Tis an honest name, 'tis a beautiful life,
And the silver lock of my father's hair.
Scheme | AXXXBCDC XXXXXEFE XGHGXXXA XBIBXIXX XFXFHJXJ XXXDXKFK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101111101 1101101 01101011001 101011011 10111110101 11111101 111111111 1111101001 111111111 10111011 101110101 1111111 1011110101 111111 010010111 0111011 11011011011 1001111001 0101101101 111100101 111111011 111010111 1010111111 110111111 11010110101 11111001 1010011101 11101101 10100111011 01111101 1011011001 11111101 111111101 010111 1110011001 11011001 101001011111 01111001 11111010001 10111101 1101101111 01001001 10101111011 101001111 1100111001 1101110111 11101101001 0010111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,888 |
Words | 369 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 249 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 61 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 1:52 min read
- 25 Views
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"A Little Grey Curl" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/56096/a-little-grey-curl>.
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