The Altar
Edwin Arlington Robinson 1869 – 1935
Alone, remote, nor witting where I went,
I found an altar builded in a dream—
A fiery place, whereof there was a gleam
So swift, so searching, and so eloquent
Of upward promise, that love’s murmur, blent
With sorrow’s warning, gave but a supreme
Unending impulse to that human stream
Whose flood was all for the flame’s fury bent.
Alas! I said,—the world is in the wrong.
But the same quenchless fever of unrest
That thrilled the foremost of that martyred throng
Thrilled me, and I awoke … and was the same
Bewildered insect plunging for the flame
That burns, and must burn somehow for the best.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 12, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 41 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBXABBA CDCEED |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 612 |
Words | 110 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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"The Altar" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/10032/the-altar>.
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