On a Piece of Tapestry

George Santayana 1863 (Madrid) – 1952 (Rome)



Hold high the woof, dear friends, that we may see
The cunning mixture of its colours rare.
Nothing in nature purposely is fair,—
Her beauties in their freedom disagree;
But here all vivid dyes that garish be,
To that tint mellowed which the sense will bear,
Glow, and not wound the eye that, resting there,
Lingers to feed its gentle ecstacy.
Crimson and purple and all hues of wine,
Saffron and russet, brown and sober green
Are rich the shadowy depths of blue between;
While silver threads with golden intertwine,
To catch the glimmer of a fickle sheen,—
All the long labour of some captive queen.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
130

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABBACDDCDD
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 598
Words 110
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

George Santayana

Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known as George Santayana, was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. more…

All George Santayana poems | George Santayana Books

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