Simples

James Joyce 1882 (Rathgar) – 1941 (Zürich)



O bella bionda,
Sei come l'onda!

Of cool sweet dew and radiance mild
The moon a web of silence weaves
In the still garden where a child
Gathers the simple salad leaves.

A moondew stars her hanging hair
And moonlight kisses her young brow
And, gathering, she sings an air:
Fair as the wave is, fair, art thou!

Be mine, I pray, a waxen ear
To shield me from her childish croon
And mine a shielded heart for her
Who gathers simples of the moon.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

26 sec read
488

Quick analysis:

Scheme AA ABAB CDCD XEXE
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 436
Words 87
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 2, 4, 4, 4

James Joyce

ames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century.  more…

All James Joyce poems | James Joyce Books

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    "Simples" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20185/simples>.

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