Response

John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)



Beside that milestone where the level sun,
Nigh unto setting, sheds his last, low rays
On word and work irrevocably done,
Life's blending threads of good and ill outspun,
I hear, O friends! your words of cheer and praise,
Half doubtful if myself or otherwise.
Like him who, in the old Arabian joke,
A beggar slept and crowned Caliph woke.
Thanks not the less. With not unglad surprise
I see my life-work through your partial eyes;
Assured, in giving to my home-taught songs
A higher value than of right belongs,
You do but read between the written lines
The finer grace of unfulfilled designs.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
126

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAABCDDCCEEFF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 588
Words 106
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. more…

All John Greenleaf Whittier poems | John Greenleaf Whittier Books

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    "Response" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/23025/response>.

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