The Undying
She was so wonderful I wondered
If wedding me she had not blundered;
She was so pure, so high above me,
I marvelled how she came to love me:
Or did she? Well, in her own fashion -
Affection, pity, never passion.
I knew I was not worth her love;
Yet oh, how wistfully I strove
To be her equal in some way;
She knew I tried, and I would pray
Some day she'd hold her head in pride,
And stand with praising by my side.
A Weakling, I - she made me strong;
My finest thoughts to her belong;
Through twenty years she mothered me,
And then one day she smothered me
With kisses, saying wild with joy:
"Soon we'll be three - let's hope, a boy."
"Too old to bear a child," they said;
Well, they were right, for both are dead. . . .
Ah no, not dead - she is with me,
And by my side she'll ever be;
Her spirit lingers, half divine:
All good I do is hers, not mine.
God, by my works O let me strive
To keep her gentleness alive!
Let in my heart her spirit glow,
And by my thoughts for others show
She is not dead: she'll never die
While love for humankind have I.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 101 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABBCC XXDDEE FFBBGG HHBBII JJKKLL |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,028 |
Words | 217 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
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"The Undying" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32677/the-undying>.
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