Analysis of Afterwards
Arthur Henry Adams 1872 (Lawrence) – 1936 (Sydney, New South Wales)
NOW that our pathways sever here,
And mine slopes down across the night,
Whence I shall see you burning clear
A beacon on the mountain-height—
Now that our pathways sever here,
I have no kiss, I have no tear.
Your eyes my lonely world have lit
With sunset peace that lingers yet,
And on my gladdened heart is writ
No shade of blame, and no regret.
Your eyes my sombre world have lit,
And made a new world out of it.
Your soul is woven, strand and strand,
With mine across the woof of Time;
Your fingers trickle from my hand—
Yet where you go my soul shall climb.
Our souls are woven, strand with strand;
Think you the pattern was not planned?
Love finds a solace in regret—
With the rich past I am content
You dare not ask me to forget;
With memories I am opulent.
Love finds this solace in regret:
What solace if we had not met?
The richest guerdon of this earth
You gave me like a flower to wear;
My heart is dowered beyond dearth,
A treasure through the dark I bear—
The richest guerdon of this earth,
The knowledge of one woman's worth.
The flower of your dear love is dead;
But Springs come ever with the years:
I asked you for your heart: instead
You gave me more, you gave your tears!
The blossom of your love is dead;
But all its fragrance is not fled.
Our ways lie solitary, long,
And we have done with halt and rest;
On to the goal the others throng,
No longer may we fare abreast.
Our ways lie solitary, long,
Yet through my sorrow laughs this song:—
Our pathways only now begin
To close the circle in, complete,
Until our purpose we shall win,
Until again, far off, we meet.
Our pathways only now begin
To narrow, narrow, narrow in!
The race is ready to be run,
But clear and certain is our quest;
Your heart the prize that will be won.
This dallying was but a test
To try us ere the race be run.
Now—now the journey is begun!
Chance is not chance—but very wise.
I might have missed you blindly. Lo,
The countersign! Without disguise,
The soul I seek at last I know.
Chance is not chance—but very wise.
We part, that we may recognise.
Scheme | AbxbAcdededdfgfgffexexee HchcHhijixiiKlklKkMnmnMm ololooPqpqPj |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11101101 01110101 11111101 01010101 11101101 11111111 11110111 1111101 0111111 11110101 1111111 01011111 11110101 11010111 11010111 11111111 101110111 11010111 11010001 10111110 11111101 110011100 11110001 11011111 0101111 111101011 1111011 01010111 0101111 01011101 010111111 11110101 11111101 11111111 01011111 11110111 10111001 01111101 11010101 11011101 10111001 11110111 10110101 11010001 011010111 01011111 10110101 11010100 01110111 110101101 11011111 111101 11110111 11010101 11111101 11111101 010101 01111111 11111101 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,149 |
Words | 396 |
Sentences | 23 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 24, 24, 12 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 527 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 131 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 11, 2023
- 1:59 min read
- 42 Views
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"Afterwards" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3815/afterwards>.
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