A Long Bough
Hayyim Nahman Bialik 1873 (Ivnitsa, Volhynian Governorate) – 1934 (Vienna)
A bough sank down on a fence, and fell asleep –
so shall I sleep.
The fruit has fallen; and what do I care
for my root and stock?
The fruit has fallen, the flower is long forgotten,
only leaves remain.
One day a storm will rage and they will fall,
casualties, to earth.
Afterwards, terrible nights.
No respite, no sleep.
I wrestle alone in darkness, batter
my head on the wall.
Spring will blossom again. Only I
hang on to my stem –
bald shoot with no bud and no flower
no fruit and no leaf.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 16, 2023
- 29 sec read
- 123 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AAXX XXBX XACB XXCX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 488 |
Words | 99 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"A Long Bough" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/17022/a-long-bough>.
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