I Explain
Stephen Crane 1871 – 1900
I explain the silvered passing of a ship at night,
The sweep of each sad lost wave,
The dwindling boom of the steel thing's striving,
The little cry of a man to a man,
A shadow falling across the greyer night,
And the sinking of the small star;
Then the waste, the far waste of waters,
And the soft lashing of black waves
For long and in loneliness.
Remember, thou, O ship of love,
Thou leavest a far waste of waters,
And the soft lashing of black waves
For long and in loneliness.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 21, 2023
- 28 sec read
- 118 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | axxxaxbCD xbCD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 489 |
Words | 95 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 4 |
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"I Explain" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/35683/i-explain>.
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