The City Clocks

Padraic Colum 1881 (County Longford) – 1972 (Enfield)



THE City clocks point out the hours
They look like moons on their darkened towers-

And I who was shown my destination
Thrice, but have no sense of location,

Am back again at one or the other
Looming clocks that have changed the figure.

Moments a thousand have hurried over,
And the sought place is as far as ever.

The City clocks point out the hours
They look like moons on their darkened towers;

That Time and Place are a tangled skein
Their mingled strokes say over again.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

27 sec read
332

Quick analysis:

Scheme AA bb cc cc AA xx
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 471
Words 90
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Padraic Colum

Padraic Colum was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. more…

All Padraic Colum poems | Padraic Colum Books

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