Suicide

William Ernest Henley 1849 (Gloucester) – 1903 (Woking)



Staring corpselike at the ceiling,
See his harsh, unrazored features,
Ghastly brown against the pillow,
And his throat-so strangely bandaged!

Lack of work and lack of victuals,
A debauch of smuggled whisky,
And his children in the workhouse
Made the world so black a riddle

That he plunged for a solution;
And, although his knife was edgeless,
He was sinking fast towards one,
When they came, and found, and saved him.

Stupid now with shame and sorrow,
In the night I hear him sobbing.
But sometimes he talks a little.
He has told me all his troubles.

In his broad face, tanned and bloodless,
White and wild his eyeballs glisten;
And his smile, occult and tragic,
Yet so slavish, makes you shudder!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 19, 2023

37 sec read
314

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCX BXBD EBEX CADX XEXX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 687
Words 124
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley was an English poet, critic and editor, best remembered for his 1875 poem "Invictus". more…

All William Ernest Henley poems | William Ernest Henley Books

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