One Of Twain

Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)



One of twain, twin-born with flowers that waken,
Now hath passed from sense of sun and rain:
Wind from off the flower-crowned branch hath shaken
  One of twain.

One twin flower must pass, and one remain:
One, the word said soothly, shall be taken,
And another left:  can death refrain?

Two years since was love's light song mistaken,
Blessing then both blossoms, half in vain?
Night outspeeding light hath overtaken
  One of twain.

Night and light?  O thou of heart unwary,
Love, what knowest thou here at all aright,
Lured, abused, misled as men by fairy
  Night and light?

Haply, where thine eyes behold but night,
Soft as o'er her babe the smile of Mary
Light breaks flowerwise into new-born sight.

What though night of light to thee be chary?
What though stars of hope like flowers take flight?
Seest thou all things here, where all see vary
  Night and light?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

46 sec read
85

Quick analysis:

Scheme abaB bab abaB cdcD dcd cdcD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 851
Words 153
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as Poems and Ballads, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Swinburne wrote about many taboo topics, such as lesbianism, cannibalism, sado-masochism, and anti-theism. His poems have many common motifs, such as the ocean, time, and death. Several historical people are featured in his poems, such as Sappho ("Sapphics"), Anactoria ("Anactoria"), Jesus ("Hymn to Proserpine": Galilaee, La. "Galilean") and Catullus ("To Catullus"). more…

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