The Fire That Filled My Heart of Old

James Thomson 1700 (Port Glasgow) – 1748 (London)



The fire that filled my heart of old
Gave luster while it burned;
Now only ashes gray and cold
Are in its silence urned.
Ah! better was the furious flame,
The splendor with the smart;
I never cared for the singer's fame
But, oh! for the singer's heart
Once more--
The burning fulgent heart!

No love, no hate, no hope, no fear,
No anguish and no mirth;
Thus life extends from year to year,
A flat of sullen dearth.
Ah! life's blood creepeth cold and tame,
Life's thought plays no new part;
I never cared for the singer's fame,
But, oh! for the singer's heart
Once more--
The bleeding passionate heart!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
46

Quick analysis:

Scheme axaabcBCDc efefbcBCDc
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 608
Words 113
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 10, 10

James Thomson

James Thomson, who wrote under the pseudonym Bysshe Vanolis, was a Scottish Victorian-era poet famous primarily for the long poem The City of Dreadful Night, an expression of bleak pessimism in a dehumanized, uncaring urban environment. more…

All James Thomson poems | James Thomson Books

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