To Clementina Black

Amy Levy 1861 (London) – 1889 (London)



More blest than was of old Diogenes,
I have not held my lantern up in vain.
Not mine, at least, this evil--to complain:
"There is none honest among all of these."

Our hopes go down that sailed before the breeze;
Our creeds upon the rock are rent in twain;
Something it is, if at the last remain
One floating spar cast up by hungry seas.

The secret of our being, who can tell?
To praise the gods and Fate is not my part;
Evil I see, and pain ; within my heart
There is no voice that whispers: "All is well."

Yet fair are days in summer; and more fair
The growths of human goodness here and there.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
65

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBA ABBA CDDC EE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 590
Words 121
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 2

Amy Levy

Amy Levy was a British essayist, poet, and novelist best remembered for her feminist positions and her homosexual romances during the Victorian era. more…

All Amy Levy poems | Amy Levy Books

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