Tact
Edwin Arlington Robinson 1869 – 1935
Observant of the way she told
So much of what was true,
No vanity could long withhold
Regard that was her due:
She spared him the familiar guile,
So easily achieved,
That only made a man to smile
And left him undeceived.
Aware that all imagining
Of more than what she meant
Would urge an end of everything,
He stayed; and when he went,
They parted with a merry word
That was to him as light
As any that was ever heard
Upon a starry night.
She smiled a little, knowing well
That he would not remark
The ruins of a day that fell
Around her in the dark:
He saw no ruins anywhere,
Nor fancied there were scars
On anyone who lingered there,
Alone below the stars.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 30, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 174 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCXCA DEDEFGFG HIHIJKJK |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 664 |
Words | 130 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"Tact" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/10030/tact>.
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