Analysis of In Faith

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



When the soft sweet wind o' the south went by,
I dwelt in the light of a dark brown eye;
And out where the robin sang his song,
We lived and loved, while the days were long.

In the sweet, sweet eves, when the moon swung high,
We wandered under the starry sky;
Or sat in the porch, and the moon looked through
The latticed wall where the roses grew.

My lips, that hd no lover's kiss,
You taught the art, till they trilled in bliss;
And the moon, and the stars, and the roses knew
That the heart you won was pure and true.

But true hearts weary men, maybe,
For you grew weary of love, and me.
Over the porch the dead vines hang,
And a mourning dove sobs where the robin sang.

In a warmer clime does another sigh
Under the light of your dark brown eye?
Did you follow the soft sweet wing o' the south,
And are you kissing a redder mouth?

Lips may be redder, and eyes more bright;
The face may be fairer you see to-night;
But never, love, while the stars shall shine,
Will you find a heart that is truer than mine.

Sometime, perhaps, when south winds blow,
You will think of a love you used to know;
Sometime, perhaps, when a robin sings,
Your heart will go back to olden things.

Sometime you will weary of this world's arts,
Of deceit and change and hollow hearts,
And, wearying, sigh for the 'used to be, '
And your feet will turn to the porch, and me.

I shall watch for you here when days grow long;
I shall list for your step through the robin's song;
I shall sit in the porch where the moon looks through,
And a vacant chair will wait - for you.

You may stray, and forget, and rove afar,
But my changeless love, like the polar star,
Will draw you at length o'er land and sea -
And I know you will yet come back to me.

The years may come, and the years may go,
But sometime again, when south winds blow,
When roses bloom, and the moon swings high,
I shall live in he light of your dark brown eye.


Scheme AABB AACC DDCC EEFF AAGG HHII JJKK LLEE BBCC MMEE JJAA
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 1011110111 1100110111 011010111 110110101 0011110111 110100101 1100100111 01110101 11111101 110111101 00100100101 101111101 11110110 111101101 10010111 00101110101 0010110101 100111111 11100111101 011100101 111100111 0111101111 110110111 11101111011 1011111 1111011111 10110101 111111101 111101111 101010101 0100110111 0111110101 1111111111 11111110101 11100110111 001011111 1110010101 111110101 1111110101 0111111111 011100111 11011111 110100111 11101111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,889
Words 378
Sentences 14
Stanzas 11
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 44
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 131
Words per stanza (avg) 34
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:54 min read
120

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. more…

All Ella Wheeler Wilcox poems | Ella Wheeler Wilcox Books

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