Hermes

Francis Thompson 1859 (City of Preston, Lancashire) – 1907 (London)



Soothsay. Behold, with rod twy-serpented,
Hermes the prophet, twining in one power
The woman with the man. Upon his head
The cloudy cap, wherewith he hath in dower
The cloud's own virtue--change and counterchange,
To show in light, and to withdraw in pall,
As mortal eyes best bear. His lineage strange
From Zeus, Truth's sire, and maiden May--the all-
Illusive Nature. His fledged feet declare
That 'tis the nether self transdeified,
And the thrice-furnaced passions, which do bear
The poet Olympusward. In him allied
Both parents clasp; and from the womb of Nature
Stern Truth takes flesh in shows of lovely feature.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
105

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABACDEDFGAGABB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 613
Words 104
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Francis Thompson

The Rt Rev Francis William Banahene Thompson was Bishop of Accra from 1983 to 1996. more…

All Francis Thompson poems | Francis Thompson Books

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