Here is the Little Door
Gilbert Keith Chesterton 1874 (Kensington, London) – 1936 (Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire)
Here is the little door, lift up the latch, oh lift!
We need not wander more but enter with our gift;
Our gift of finest gold,
Gold that was never bought nor sold;
Myrrh to be strewn about his bed;
Incense in clouds about his head;
All for the Child who stirs not in his sleep.
But holy slumber holds with ass and sheep.
Bend low about his bed, for each he has a gift;
See how his eyes awake, lift up your hands, O lift!
For gold, he gives a keen-edged sword
(Defend with it Thy little Lord!),
For incense, smoke of battle red.
Myrrh for the honoured happy dead;
Gifts for his children terrible and sweet,
Touched by such tiny hands and
Oh such tiny feet.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 18, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 116 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABBCCDD AAEECCFXF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 648 |
Words | 131 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 9 |
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"Here is the Little Door" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/15978/here-is-the-little-door>.
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