Ancient History
Siegfried Sassoon 1886 (Matfield) – 1967 (Heytesbury)
Adam, a brown old vulture in the rain,
Shivered below his wind-whipped olive-trees;
Huddling sharp chin on scarred and scraggy knees,
He moaned and mumbled to his darkening brain;
‘He was the grandest of them all was Cain!
‘A lion laired in the hills, that none could tire:
‘Swift as a stag: a stallion of the plain,
‘Hungry and fierce with deeds of huge desire.’
Grimly he thought of Abel, soft and fair
A lover with disaster in his face,
And scarlet blossom twisted in bright hair.
‘Afraid to fight; was murder more disgrace?’
‘God always hated Cain’ He bowed his head
The gaunt wild man whose lovely sons were dead.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 241 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAACAC DEDEFF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 632 |
Words | 115 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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"Ancient History" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/34840/ancient-history>.
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