Analysis of Song of the Wave XVII
Khalil Gibran 1883 (Bsharri) – 1931 (New York City)
The strong shore is my beloved
And I am his sweetheart.
We are at last united by love, and
Then the moon draws me from him.
I go to him in haste and depart
Reluctantly, with many
Little farewells.
I steal swiftly from behind the
Blue horizon to cast the silver of
My foam upon the gold of his sand, and
We blend in melted brilliance.
I quench his thirst and submerge his
Heart; he softens my voice and subdues
My temper.
At dawn I recite the rules of love upon
His ears, and he embraces me longingly.
At eventide I sing to him the song of
Hope, and then print smooth hisses upon
His face; I am swift and fearful, but he
Is quiet, patient, and thoughtful. His
Broad bosom soothes my restlessness.
As the tide comes we caress each other,
When it withdraws, I drop to his feet in
Prayer.
Many times have I danced around mermaids
As they rose from the depths and rested
Upon my crest to watch the stars;
Many times have I heard lovers complain
Of their smallness, and I helped them to sigh.
Many times have I teased the great rocks
And fondled them with a smile, but never
Have I received laughter from them;
Many times have I lifted drowning souls
And carried them tenderly to my beloved
Shore. He gives them strength as he
Takes mine.
Many times have I stolen gems from the
Depths and presented them to my beloved
Shore. He takes them in silence, but still
I give fro he welcomes me ever.
In the heaviness of night, when all
Creatures seek the ghost of Slumber, I
Sit up, singing at one time and sighing
At another. I am awake always.
Alas! Sleeplessness has weakened me!
But I am a lover, and the truth of love
Is strong.
I may be weary, but I shall never die.
Scheme | ABCXBDE FGCX HEIJD GJDHX IXX XXXXK XIXXADX FAXI XKXX DGXK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111101 01111 1111010110 1011111 111101001 0100110 101 11101010 1010110101 1101011110 1101010 11110011 11101101 110 11101011101 11010101100 111111011 101111001 1111101011 110100101 11011100 1011101110 1101111110 1 101111011 111101010 01111101 1011111001 1110011111 101111011 0101101110 11011011 1011110101 01011001101 1111111 11 1011110110 1001011101 111101011 111110110 0011111 101011101 1110111010 101011011 0111101 11101000111 11 11110111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,667 |
Words | 321 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 4, 5, 5, 3, 5, 7, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 130 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 78 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Song of the Wave XVII" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25233/song-of-the-wave-xvii>.
Discuss this Khalil Gibran poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In