The Young Letter Writer
Charles Lamb 1775 (Inner Temple, London) – 1834 (Edmonton, London)
Dear Sir, Dear Madam, or Dear Friend,
With ease are written at the top;
When those two happy words are penned,
A youthful writer oft will stop,
And bite his pen, and lift his eyes
As if he thinks to find in air
The wished-for following words, or tries
To fix his thoughts by fixëd stare.
But haply all in vain-the next
Two words may be so long before
They'll come, the writer, sore perplext,
Gives in despair the matter o'er;
And when maturer age he sees
With ready pen so swift inditing,
With envy he beholds the ease
Of long-accustomed letter-writing.
Courage, young friend; the time may be
When you attain maturer age,
Some young as you are now may see
You with like ease glide down a page.
Even then when you, to years a debtor,
In varied phrase your meanings wrap,
The welcomest words in all your letter
May be those two kind words at top.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 23, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 141 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB CDCD XXAE FGFG HIHI EXEB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 830 |
Words | 161 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"The Young Letter Writer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/5422/the-young-letter-writer>.
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