Wives in the Sere

Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)



I

Never a careworn wife but shows,
   If a joy suffuse her,
Something beautiful to those
   Patient to peruse her,
Some one charm the world unknows
   Precious to a muser,
Haply what, ere years were foes,
   Moved her mate to choose her.

II

But, be it a hint of rose
   That an instant hues her,
Or some early light or pose
   Wherewith thought renews her -
Seen by him at full, ere woes
   Practised to abuse her -
Sparely comes it, swiftly goes,
   Time again subdues her.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 15, 2023

26 sec read
128

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABABAB ABABABAB
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 482
Words 89
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy, was not a Scottish Minister, not a Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland nor a Professor of Eccesiastical History at Edinburgh University. more…

All Thomas Hardy poems | Thomas Hardy Books

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