The College Colonel
Herman Melville 1819 – 1891
He rides at their head;
A crutch by his saddle just slants in view,
One slung arm in splints, you see,
Yet he guides his strong steed - how coldly too.
He brings his regiment home -
Not as they filed two years before,
But a remnant half-tattered, and battered, and worn,
Like castaway sailors, who - stunned
By the surf's loud roar,
Their mates dragged back and seen no more -
Again and again breast the surge,
And at last crawl, spent, to shore.
A still rigidity and pale -
An Indian aloofness lines his brow;
He has lived a thousand years
Compressed in battle's pains and prayers,
Marches and watches slow.
There are welcoming shots, and flags;
Old men off hat to the Boy,
Wreaths from gay balconies fall at his feet,
But to him - there comes alloy.
It is not that a leg is lost,
It is not that an arm is maimed,
It is not that the fever has racked -
Self he has long since disclaimed.
But all through the Seven Days' Fight,
And deep in the Wilderness grim,
And in the field-hospital tent,
And Petersburg crater, and dim
Lean brooding in Libby, there came -
Ah heaven! - what truth to him.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 129 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XAXA XBXXBBXB XXXXX XCXC XDXD XEXEXE |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,069 |
Words | 211 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 8, 5, 4, 4, 6 |
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"The College Colonel" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/19108/the-college-colonel>.
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