The Old Year
John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)
The Old Year's gone away
To nothingness and night:
We cannot find him all the day
Nor hear him in the night:
He left no footstep, mark or place
In either shade or sun:
The last year he'd a neighbour's face,
In this he's known by none.
All nothing everywhere:
Mists we on mornings see
Have more of substance when they're here
And more of form than he.
He was a friend by every fire,
In every cot and hall -
A guest to every heart's desire,
And now he's nought at all.
Old papers thrown away,
Old garments cast aside,
The talk of yesterday,
All things identified;
But times once torn away
No voices can recall:
The eve of New Year's Day
Left the Old Year lost to all.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 90 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCDCD XEXEFGFG AHAHAGAG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 650 |
Words | 132 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"The Old Year" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 17 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/22319/the-old-year>.
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