In The Harbour: Prelude

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)



As treasures that men seek,
Deep buried in sea-sands,
Vanish if they but speak,
And elude their eager hands,

So ye escape and slip,
O songs, and fade away,
When the word is on my lip
To interpret what ye say.

Were it not better, then,
To let the treasures rest
Hid from the eyes of men,
Locked in their iron chest?

I have but marked the place,
But half the secret told,
That, following this slight trace,
Others may find the gold.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

25 sec read
375

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 423
Words 85
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. more…

All Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poems | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Books

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