The Snare

James Stephens 1882 (Dublin) – 1950



I hear a sudden cry of pain!
There is a rabbit in a snare:
Now I hear the cry again,
But I cannot tell from where.

But I cannot tell from where
He is calling out for aid!
Crying on the frightened air,
Making everything afraid!

Making everything afraid!
Wrinkling up his little face!
And he cries again for aid;
- and I cannot find the place!

And I cannot find the place
Where his paw is in the snare!
Little One! Oh, Little One!
I am searching everywhere!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 19, 2023

27 sec read
768

Quick analysis:

Scheme xaxA AbaB BcbC Caxa
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 448
Words 91
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

James Stephens

James Stephens was an Irish Republican and the founding member of an originally unnamed revolutionary organisation in Dublin on 17 March 1858, later to become known as the Irish Republican Brotherhood, also referred to as the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood by contemporaries. more…

All James Stephens poems | James Stephens Books

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1 Comment
  • Ahtisham Ulhaq
    Ahtisham Ulhaq
    a great poem.I appreciates it very much,as it is written for the rights of poor people and those in miserable conditions.
    LikeReply 29 years ago

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"The Snare" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20538/the-snare>.

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