Song #5
John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)
I would not feign a single sigh
Nor weep a single tear for thee:
The soul within these orbs burns dry;
A desert spreads where love should be.
I would not be a worm to crawl
A writhing suppliant in thy way;
For love is life, is heaven, and all
The beams of an immortal day.
For sighs are idle things and vain,
And tears for idiots vainly fall.
I would not kiss thy face again
Nor round thy shining slippers crawl.
Love is the honey, not the bee,
Nor would I turn its sweets to gall
For all the beauty found in thee,
Thy lily neck, rose cheek, and all.
I would not feign a single tale
Thy kindness or thy love to seek;
Nor sigh for Jenny of the Vale,
Her ruby smile or rosy cheek.
I would not have a pain to own
For those dark curls and those bright eyes
A frowning lip, a heart of stone,
False love and folly I despise.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 32 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCDCD XCXCBCBC EFEFGHGH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 803 |
Words | 169 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"Song #5" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/22281/song-#5>.
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