In Memoriam A. H. H. Obiit: 124. That which we dare invoke



That which we dare invoke to bless;
        Our dearest faith; our ghastliest doubt;
        He, They, One, All; within, without;
    The Power in darkness whom we guess;
    I found Him not in world or sun,
        Or eagle's wing, or insect's eye;
        Nor thro' the questions men may try,
    The petty cobwebs we have spun:
    If e'er when faith had fall'n asleep,
       I heard a voice, "Believe no more,"
       And heard an ever-breaking shore
   That tumbled in the Godless deep,

   A warmth within the breast would melt
       The freezing reason's colder part,
       And like a man in wrath the heart
   Stood up and answer'd, "I have felt."

   No, like a child in doubt and fear:
       But that blind clamour made me wise;
       Then was I as a child that cries,
   But crying, knows his father near;

   And what I am beheld again
       What is, and no man understands;
       And out of darkness came the hands
   That reach thro' nature, moulding men.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 23, 2023

50 sec read
63

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBACDDCEFFE GHHG IJJI KLLK
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 958
Words 163
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 12, 4, 4, 4

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets.  more…

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    "In Memoriam A. H. H. Obiit: 124. That which we dare invoke" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/1000/in-memoriam-a.-h.-h.-obiit:-124.-that-which-we-dare-invoke>.

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