The Tortoise in Eternity
Elinor Morton Wylie 1885 (Somerville, New Jersey) – 1928 (New York City, New York)
Within my house of patterned horn
I sleep in such a bed
As men may keep before they're born
And after when they're dead.
Sticks and stones may break their bones,
And words may make them bleed;
There is not one of them who owns
An armour to his need.
Tougher than hide or lozenged bark,
Snow-storm and thunder proof,
And quick with sun, and thick with dark,
Is this my darling roof.
Men's troubled dreams of death and birth
Puls mother-o'-pearl to black;
I bear the rainbow bubble Earth
Square on my scornful back.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 06, 2023
- 30 sec read
- 102 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 518 |
Words | 97 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"The Tortoise in Eternity" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/10185/the-tortoise-in-eternity>.
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