The Broken Ring

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



To the willows of the brookside
The mill wheel sings to-day--
Sings and weeps,
As the brooklet creeps
Wondering on its way;
And here is the ring _she_ gave me
With love's sweet promise then--
It hath burst apart
Like the trusting heart
That may never be soothed again!

Oh, I would be a minstrel
To wander far and wide,
Weaving in song the merciless wrong
Done by a perjured bride!
Or I would be a soldier,
To seek in the bloody fray
What gifts of fate can compensate
For the pangs I suffer to-day!

Yet may this aching bosom,
By bitter sorrow crushed,
Be still and cold
In the churchyard mould
Ere _thy_ sweet voice be hushed;
So sing, sing on forever,
O wheel of the brookside mill,
For you mind me again
Of the old time when
I felt love's gracious thrill.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

44 sec read
91

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCCBXDEED XAXAFBXB XGHHGFIDDI
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 737
Words 146
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 10, 8, 10

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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