Analysis of The Days When We Were Young

Henry Clay Work 1832 (Middletown, Connecticut) – 1884 (Hartford, Connecticut)



Sister! Sister! don't you remember
The days when we were young?
The long, long days, with a light and a shade
Like the pearls of a necklace strung,
Like the pearls of a necklace strung?
They are gone, with all our yesterdays --
We seek their like in vain;
But we will shed no tears for them
While the bright todays remain,
While the bright todays remain.

Sister! Sister! don't you remember
The days when we were young?
The homely house in the fat, far away,
Where the love of our childhood clung,
Where the love of our childhood clung?
There is naught to mark that sacred spot,
Save now the beaten loam;
Yet distant altars have we rear'd
In the bless-ed name of home,
In the bless-ed name of home.

Sister! Sister! don't you remember
The days when we were young?
The mates of childhood -- the friend of our youth --
We companion'd and lov'd among,
We companion'd and lov'd among?
Some are wand'ring far, and some in death
Have closed their weary eyes;
But we rejoice in new found friends,
While we weep for broken ties,
While we weep for broken ties.


Scheme ABxBBxcxCC ABxBBxdxDD ABxBBxexEE
Poetic Form Tetractys  (30%)
Metre 101011010 011101 0111101001 10110101 10110101 111111010 111101 11111111 1010101 1010101 101011010 011101 0101001101 10111011 10111011 111111101 110101 11010111 0011111 0011111 101011010 011101 0111011101 110101 110101 111110101 111101 11010111 1111101 1111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,028
Words 197
Sentences 16
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 10, 10, 10
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 269
Words per stanza (avg) 65
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 24, 2023

1:01 min read
44

Henry Clay Work

Henry Clay Work was an American composer and songwriter. more…

All Henry Clay Work poems | Henry Clay Work Books

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