A Lesson
Ada Cambridge 1844 (St Germans, Norfolk) – 1926 (Melbourne)
1.
I know now why the world was sad,
With so much good to make it glad;
Why all things loveliest and best
Have stirred vague sorrows in my breast,
And sweetest days that life has had
Have vexed me with such vast unrest.
2.
I know why I have pined and toiled,
And found all aspirations foiled;
I know why I have gained and spent,
And never learned what riches meant;
I know what lack and loss have spoiled
The treasure of my soul's content.
3.
Like day- dawn on the darkened earth,
Like sun and rain in drought and dearth,
Like spring, that wakens flowers so fast
When barren winter- time is past,
Love, long- deferred, has come to birth —
And I am satisfied at last.
4.
My heart is singing; tears are shed;
I, that was starved, am warmed, and fed —
For love is fire and food and wine,
All comfort earthly and divine.
Now I am living that was dead,
And all that life can give is mine.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 53 sec read
- 86 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABBAB CCDDCD EEFFEF GGHHGH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 868 |
Words | 176 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
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"A Lesson" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/24/a-lesson>.
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