Mezzo Cammin

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



Half of my life is gone, and I have let
  The years slip from me and have not fulfilled
  The aspiration of my youth, to build
  Some tower of song with lofty parapet.
Not indolence, nor pleasure, nor the fret
  Of restless passions chat would not be stilled,
  But sorrow, and a care that almost killed,
  Kept me from what I may accomplish yet;
Though, half way up the hill, I see the Past
  Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights,--
  A city in the twilight dim and vast,
With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights.--
  And hear above me on the autumnal blast
  The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
123

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABBACDCDCD
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 628
Words 119
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

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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