The Poet's Delay

Henry David Thoreau 1817 (Concord) – 1862 (Concord)



IN vain I see the morning rise,
In vain observe the western blaze,
Who idly look to other skies,
Expecting life by other ways.

Amidst such boundless wealth without,
I only still am poor within,
The birds have sung their summer out,
But still my spring does not begin.

Shall I then wait the autumn wind,
Compelled to seek a milder day,
And leave no curious nest behind,
No woods still echoing to my lay?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 30, 2023

23 sec read
382

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 399
Words 77
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist. more…

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