To Larkin

Lola Ridge 1873 – 1941



Is it you I see go by the window, Jim Larkin—you not looking
     at me nor any one,
  And your shadow swaying from East to West?
  Strange that you should be walking free—you shut down without light,
  And your legs tied up with a knot of iron.
  One hundred million men and women go inevitably about their affairs,
  In the somnolent way
  Of men before a great drunkenness….
  They do not see you go by their windows, Jim Larkin,
  With your eyes bloody as the sunset
  And your shadow gaunt upon the sky…
  You, and the like of you, that life
  Is crushing for their frantic wines.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
93

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKLM
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 589
Words 109
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 13

Lola Ridge

Lola Ridge was an anarchist poet and an influential editor of avant-garde feminist and Marxist publications best remembered for her long poems and poetic sequences She along with other political poets of the early Modernist period has been coming under increasing critical scrutiny at the beginning of the twenty-first century more…

All Lola Ridge poems | Lola Ridge Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem To Larkin with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "To Larkin" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/25950/to-larkin>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    14
    hours
    59
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which poet is known for writing "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"?
    A Dylan Thomas
    B William Shakespeare
    C T.S. Eliot
    D Sylvia Plath