The Main Regret

George Meredith 1828 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) – 1909 (Box Hill, Surrey)



[Written for the Charing Cross Album]

I.

Seen, too clear and historic within us, our sins of omission
Frown when the Autumn days strike us all ruthlessly bare.
They of our mortal diseases find never healing physician;
Errors they of the soul, past the one hope to repair.

II.

Sunshine might we have been unto seed under soil, or have scattered
Seed to ascendant suns brighter than any that shone.
Even the limp-legged beggar a sick desperado has flattered
Back to a half-sloughed life cheered by the mere human tone.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

27 sec read
34

Quick analysis:

Scheme X ABAB CDCD
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 514
Words 92
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4

George Meredith

George Meredith was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times. more…

All George Meredith poems | George Meredith Books

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