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A Dirge

Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)

Why were you born when the snow was falling?
You should have come to the cuckoo's calling
Or when grapes are green in the cluster,
Or, at least, when lithe swallows muster
For their far off flying
From summer dying.

Why did you die when the lambs were cropping?
You should have died at the apples' dropping,
When the grasshopper comes to trouble,
And the wheat-fields are sodden stubble,
And all winds go sighing
For sweet things dying.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

24 sec read
149

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBAA AACCAA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 444
Words 80
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 6
Full analysis for A Dirge »

Christina Georgina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote various romantic, devotional, and children's poems. "Goblin Market" and "Remember" remain famous. She wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in the UK: "In the Bleak Midwinter", later set by Gustav Holst and by Harold Darke, and "Love Came Down at Christmas", set by Harold Darke and by other composers. more…

All Christina Georgina Rossetti poems | Christina Georgina Rossetti Books

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