The Ancient Elf

James Stephens 1882 (Dublin) – 1950



I am the maker,
The builder, the breaker,
The eagle-winged helper,
The speedy forsaker!

The lance and the lyre,
The water, the fire,
The tooth of oppression,
The lip of desire!

The snare and the wing,
They honey, the sting!
When you seek for me--look
For a different thing!

I, careless and gay,
Never mean what I say,
For my thoughts and my eyes
Look the opposite way!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

21 sec read
387

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAAA XAXA BBXB CCXC
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 361
Words 70
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

James Stephens

James Stephens was an Irish Republican and the founding member of an originally unnamed revolutionary organisation in Dublin on 17 March 1858, later to become known as the Irish Republican Brotherhood, also referred to as the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood by contemporaries. more…

All James Stephens poems | James Stephens Books

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