The Summons
Ezra Pound 1885 (Hailey) – 1972 (Venice)
I can not bow to woo thee
With honey words and flower kisses
And the dew of sweet half-truths
Fallen on the grass of old quaint love-tales
Of broidered days foredone.
Nor in the murmurous twilight
May I sit below thee,
Worshiping in whispers
Tremulous as far-heard bells.
All these things have I known once
And passed
In that gay youth I had but yester-year.
And that is gone
As the shadow of wind.
Nay, I can not woo thee thus;
But as I am ever swept upward
To the centre of all truth
So must I bear thee with me
Rapt into this great involving flame,
Calling ever from the midst thereof,
"Follow! Follow!"
And in the glory of our meeting
Shall the power be reborn.
And together in the midst of this power
Must we, each outstriving each,
Cry eternally:
"I come, go thou yet further."
And again, "Follow,"
For we may not tarry.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 86 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCDEFAGHIJKELMNOAPQRSETUATRA |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 806 |
Words | 161 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 29 |
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"The Summons" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/13398/the-summons>.
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