Analysis of Come To Me When I'm Dying
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper 1825 – 1911
Come to me when I'm dying;
Gaze on my wasted form,
Tired with so long defying
Life's ever-rushing storm.
Come, come when I am dying,
And stand beside my bed,
Ere yet my soul is flying,
And I am cold and dead.
Bend low and lower o'er me,
For I've a word to say
Though death is just before me,
Ere I can go away.
Now that my soul is hovering
Upon the verge of day,
For thee I'll lift the covering
That veils its quivering ray.
O, ne'er had I thus spoken
In health's bright, rosy glow!
But death my pride hath broken,
And brought my spirit low.
Though now this last revealing
Quickens life's curdling springs,
And a half-timid feeling
Faint flushes o'er me flings.
Bend lower yet above me,
For I would have thee know
How passing well I love thee,
And joy to tell thee so.
This love, so purely welling
Up in this heart of mine,
O, hath it e'er found dwelling
Within thy spirit's shrine?
I've prayed my God, in meekness,
To give me some control
Over this earthly weakness
That so enthralled my soul;
And now my soul rejoices
While sweetly-thrilling strains,
From low, harmonious voices,
Soothe all my dying pains.
They sing of the Eternal,
Whose throne is far above,
Where zephyrs softly vernal
Float over bowers of love;
Of hopes and joys, earth-blighted,
Blooming 'neath cloudless skies,
Of hearts and souls united
In love that never dies.
'Tis there, 'tis there I'll meet thee
When life's brief day is o'er;
O, with what joy to greet thee
On that eternal shore!
Farewell! for death is chilling
My pulses swift and fast;
And yet in God I'm willing
This hour should be my last.
Sometimes, when day declineth,
And all the gorgeous west
In gold and purple shineth,
Go to my place of rest;
And if thy voice in weeping,
Is borne upon the air,
Think not of me as sleeping;
All cold and silent there:--
But turn, with glances tender,
Toward a shining star,
Whose rays with chastened splendor
Fall on thee from afar.
And know the blissful dwelling
Where I am waiting thee,
When Jordan fiercely swelling
Shall set thy spirit free.
Scheme | ABABACAC DEDEAEAE FGFGAHAH DGDGAIAI EJXJEKXK LMLMXNXN DODXAPAP QRQRASAS OTOTADAD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111110 111101 10111010 110101 1111110 010111 1111110 011101 11010101 110111 1111011 111101 11111100 010111 11110100 1111001 1111110 011101 1111110 011101 1111010 10111 0011010 1101011 1101011 111111 1101111 011111 1111010 101111 11110110 011101 111101 111101 1011010 110111 01111 110101 11010010 111101 1110010 111101 1101010 1101011 1101110 101101 1101010 011101 1111111 1111110 1111111 110101 111110 110101 0101110 1101111 01111 010101 010101 111111 0111010 110101 1111110 110101 1111010 010101 1111010 111101 0101010 111101 1101010 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,962 |
Words | 377 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 72 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 173 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:58 min read
- 50 Views
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"Come To Me When I'm Dying" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13706/come-to-me-when-i%27m-dying>.
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