Prelude
Richard Aldington 1892 (Portsmouth) – 1962
How could I love you more?
I would give up
Even that beauty I have loved too well
That I might love you better.
Alas, how poor the gifts that lovers give
I can but give you of my flesh and strength,
I can but give you these few passing days
And passionate words that, since our speech began,
All lovers whisper in all ladies' ears.
I try to think of some one lovely gift
No lover yet in all the world has found;
I think: If the cold sombre gods
Were hot with love as I am
Could they not endow you with a star
And fix bright youth for ever in your limbs?
Could they not give you all things that I lack?
You should have loved a god; I am but dust.
Yet no god loves as loves this poor frail dust.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 199 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX AA |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 699 |
Words | 147 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 7, 2 |
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"Prelude" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/30013/prelude>.
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