Analysis of A Letter To One Far Away
Harriet Monroe 1860 (Chicago) – 1936 (Arequipa)
Dear Wanderer—
The sky is gray,
With flecks of blue
The clouds rush over.
A bird is singing
Far away,
And butterflies
Taste of the clover.
Under the trees
My hammock swings,
And a brave breeze—
The restless rover—
Flutters the leaves
And stirs the grasses
And, whispering riddles,
Lightly passes.
Day after day
My friend and I
Climb up the hills
And search the valleys;
Dip in the brook
That ripples by
And through clear pools
Serenely dallies.
All green and gold,
All song and sweetness,
The old earth is
For summer's pleasure;
Who kisses and goes,
Whose love is fleetness,
Who gives but a season
But gives without measure.
Away with time!—
His wand I capture,
He rules no more
For this brief minute.
The years are gone—
Once more the rapture,
The night of stars
With the secret in it.
Ah, if you were here
Should I grant, I wonder,
The whole round truth
For a birthday token—
How today, tomorrow,
Together, asunder,
We are—no, hush!—
It is best unspoken.
Oh, the truest truth—
No words dare say it!
It hides in the heart
From the poor tongue's treason;
And the deepest joy—
We may never pray it.
It comes and goes
With nor rule nor reason.
Look up!—the sun
Through the clouds' gray portal!
And see—white plumes
In the blue below it!
Behold the dream,
Wide-winged, immortal!
Did I hear your voice?
You are here—I know it!
Scheme | ABCADBEAFGFAHIJIBKLFMKNEOPQARESATAUVWAXYZA1 S2 A3 S1 Y4 S5 YRSS6 7 Y8 6 9 Y |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1100 0111 1111 01110 01110 101 010 11010 1001 1101 0011 01010 1001 01010 010010 1010 1101 1101 1101 01010 1001 1101 0111 01001 1101 11010 0111 11010 11001 1111 111010 110110 0111 11110 1111 11110 0111 11010 0111 101001 11101 111110 0111 10110 10101 010010 1111 111010 10101 11111 11001 101110 00101 111011 1101 111110 1101 101110 0111 001011 0101 11010 11111 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic dimeter |
Characters | 1,335 |
Words | 246 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 64 |
Lines Amount | 64 |
Letters per line (avg) | 16 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,021 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 241 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:14 min read
- 67 Views
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"A Letter To One Far Away" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/16872/a-letter-to-one-far-away>.
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