Sonnet 42 - 'My future will not copy fair my past'
Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 (Kelloe) – 1861 (Florence)
XLII
'My future will not copy fair my past'—
I wrote that once; and thinking at my side
My ministering life-angel justified
The word by his appealing look upcast
To the white throne of God, I turned at last,
And there, instead, saw thee, not unallied
To angels in thy soul! Then I, long tried
By natural ills, received the comfort fast,
While budding, at thy sight, my pilgrim's staff
Gave out green leaves with morning dews impearled.
I seek no copy now of life's first half:
Leave here the pages with long musing curled,
And write me new my future's epigraph,
New angel mine, unhoped for in the world!
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 134 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAAABACACDCD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 599 |
Words | 112 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"Sonnet 42 - 'My future will not copy fair my past'" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/10292/sonnet-42---'my-future-will-not-copy-fair-my-past'>.
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