Leonainie
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
Leonainie--Angels named her;
And they took the light
Of the laughing stars and framed her
In a smile of white;
And they made her hair of gloomy
Midnight, and her eyes of bloomy
Moonshine, and they brought her to me
In the solemn night.--
In a solemn night of summer,
When my heart of gloom
Blossomed up to greet the comer
Like a rose in bloom;
All forebodings that distressed me
I forgot as Joy caressed me--
(LYING Joy! that caught and pressed me
In the arms of doom!)
Only spake the little lisper
In the Angel-tongue;
Yet I, listening, heard her whisper,--
'Songs are only sung
Here below that they may grieve you--
Tales but told you to deceive you,--
So must Leonainie leave you
While her love is young.'
Then God smiled and it was morning.
Matchless and supreme
Heaven's glory seemed adorning
Earth with its esteem:
Every heart but mine seemed gifted
With the voice of prayer, and lifted
Where my Leonainie drifted
From me like a dream.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 30, 2023
- 53 sec read
- 69 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCCCB ADADCCCD AEAEFFFE GHGHIIIH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 918 |
Words | 178 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
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"Leonainie" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20950/leonainie>.
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