A Dog's Death
J. C. Squire 1884 (Plymouth) – 1958
The loose earth falls in the grave like a peaceful regular breathing;
Too like, for I was deceived a moment by the sound:
It has covered the heap of bracken that the gardener laid above him;
Quiet the spade swings: there we have now his mound.
A patch of fresh earth on the floor of the wood's renewing chamber:
All around is grass and moss and the hyacinth's dark green sprouts:
And oaks are above that were old when his fiftieth sire was a puppy:
And far away in the garden I hear the children's shouts.
Their joy is remote as a dream. It is strange how we buy our sorrow
For the touch of perishing things, idly, with open eyes;
How we give our hearts to brutes that will die in a few seasons,
Nor trouble what we do when we do it; nor would have it otherwise.
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 08, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 44 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XAXA XBXB XCXC |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 763 |
Words | 152 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4 |
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"A Dog's Death" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/55865/a-dog's-death>.
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