Merlin

Edwin Muir 1887 (Orkney) – 1959 (Cambridge)



O Merlin in your crystal cave
Deep in the diamond of the day,
Will there ever be a singer
Whose music will smooth away
The furrow drawn by Adam's finger
Across the memory and the wave?
Or a runner who'll outrun
Man's long shadow driving on,
Break through the gate of memory
And hang the apple on the tree?
Will your magic ever show
The sleeping bride shut in her bower,
The day wreathed in its mound of snow
and Time locked in his tower?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

27 sec read
266

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBCADEFFGCGC
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 432
Words 87
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Edwin Muir

Edwin Muir was an Orcadian poet, novelist and translator, born on a farm in Deerness on the Orkney Islands. He is remembered for his deeply felt and vivid poetry in plain language with few stylistic preoccupations. more…

All Edwin Muir poems | Edwin Muir Books

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1 Comment
  • earll.86531
    There is a misprint: 'memory' in line six should be 'meadow'.
    LikeReply7 months ago

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"Merlin" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/10113/merlin>.

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