Opusculum

John Henry Newman 1801 (London) – 1890 (Edgbaston)



Fair Cousin, thy page
is small to encage
the thoughts which engage
the mind of a sage,
such as I am;

'Twere in teaspoon to take
the whole Genevese lake,
or a lap-dog to make
the white Elephant sac-
-red in Siam.

Yet inadequate though
to the terms strange and so-
-lemn that figure in po-
-lysyllabical row
in a treatise;

Still, true words and plain,
of the heart, not the brain,
in affectionate strain,
this book to contain
very meet is.

So I promise to be
a good Cousin to thee,
and to keep safe the se-
-cret I heard, although e-
-v'ry one know it;

With a lyrical air
my kind thoughts I would dare,
and offer whate'er
beseems the news, were
I a poet.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
82

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAAAB CCCXB DDDDX EEEEX FFXFX GGHHX
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 660
Words 129
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

John Henry Newman

Blessed John Henry Newman CO, also referred to as Cardinal Newman, was an important figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. more…

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