Yet, Yet, Ye Downcast Hours
Walt Whitman 1819 (West Hills) – 1892 (Camden)
YET, yet, ye downcast hours, I know ye also;
Weights of lead, how ye clog and cling at my ankles!
Earth to a chamber of mourning turns--I hear the o'erweening, mocking
voice,
Matter is conqueror--matter, triumphant only, continues onward.
Despairing cries float ceaselessly toward me,
The call of my nearest lover, putting forth, alarm'd, uncertain,
The Sea I am quickly to sail, come tell me,
Come tell me where I am speeding--tell me my destination.
I understand your anguish, but I cannot help you,
I approach, hear, behold--the sad mouth, the look out of the eyes,
your mute inquiry, 10
Whither I go from the bed I recline on, come tell me:
Old age, alarm'd, uncertain--A young woman's voice, appealing to me
for comfort;
A young man's voice, Shall I not escape?
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 41 sec read
- 88 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XXXXX ABAB XXAAAXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 867 |
Words | 134 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 4, 7 |
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"Yet, Yet, Ye Downcast Hours" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/38263/yet,-yet,-ye-downcast-hours>.
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