Heap Cassia, Sandal-Buds and Stripes

Robert Browning 1812 (Camberwell) – 1889 (Venice)



Heap Cassia, sandal-buds and stripes
Of labdanum, and aloe-balls,
Smeared with dull nard an Indian wipes
From out her hair: such balsam falls
Down sea-side mountain pedestals,
From tree-tops where tired winds are fain,
Spent with the vast and howling main,
To treasure half their island-gain.

And strew faint sweetness from some old
Egyptian's fine worm-eaten shroud
Which breaks to dust when once unrolled;
Or shredded perfume, like a cloud
From closet long to quiet vowed,
With mothed and dropping arras hung,
Mouldering her lute and books among,
As when a queen, long dead, was young.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 06, 2023

29 sec read
92

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABXCCC DEDEEFFF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 595
Words 98
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8

Robert Browning

Robert Browning was the father of poet Robert Browning. more…

All Robert Browning poems | Robert Browning Books

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