Rubies

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 (Boston) – 1882 (Concord)



They brought me rubies from the mine,
And held them to the sun;
I said, they are drops of frozen wine
From Eden's vats that run.

I looked again,--I thought them hearts
Of friends to friends unknown;
Tides that should warm each neighboring life
Are locked in sparkling stone.

But fire to thaw that ruddy snow,
To break enchanted ice,
And give love's scarlet tides to flow,--
When shall that sun arise?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

23 sec read
516

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB XCXC DXDX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 408
Words 76
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. more…

All Ralph Waldo Emerson poems | Ralph Waldo Emerson Books

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