A Lament

Franklin P. Adams 1881 (Chicago, Illinois) – 1960 (New York City, New York)



Horace: Book II, Elegy 8

"Eripitur nobis iam pridem cara puella---"

While she I loved is being torn
From arms that held her many years,
Dost thou regard me, friend, with scorn,
Or seek to check my tears?

Bitter the hatred for a jilt,
And hot the hates of Eros are;
My hatred, slay me as thou wilt,
For thee'd be gentler far.

Can I endure that she recline
Upon another's arm? Shall they
No longer call that lady "mine"
Who "mine" was yesterday?

For Love is fleeting as the hours.
The town of Thebes is draped with moss,
And Ilium's well-known topless towers
Are now a total loss.

Fell Thebes and Troy; and in the grave
Have fallen lords of high degree.
What songs I sang! What gifts I gave!
. . . . She never fell for me.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
101

Quick analysis:

Scheme A X BXBX CDCD EFEF GHGH IAIA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 722
Words 138
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Franklin P. Adams

Franklin Pierce Adams was an American columnist known as Franklin P. Adams and by his initials F. P. A.. Famed for his wit, he is best known for his newspaper column, "The Conning Tower", and his appearances as a regular panelist on radio's Information Please. A prolific writer of light verse, he was a member of the Algonquin Round Table of the 1920s and 1930s. more…

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