Twins, The
Robert Browning 1812 (Camberwell) – 1889 (Venice)
``Give'' and ``It-shall-be-given-unto-you.''
I.
Grand rough old Martin Luther
Bloomed fables---flowers on furze,
The better the uncouther:
Do roses stick like burrs?
II.
A beggar asked an alms
One day at an abbey-door,
Said Luther; but, seized with qualms,
The abbot replied, ``We're poor!
III.
``Poor, who had plenty once,
``When gifts fell thick as rain:
``But they give us nought, for the nonce,
``And how should we give again?''
IV.
Then the beggar, ``See your sins!
``Of old, unless I err,
``Ye had brothers for inmates, twins,
``Date and Dabitur.
V.
``While Date was in good case
``Dabitur flourished too:
``For Dabitur's lenten face
``No wonder if Date rue.
VI.
``Would ye retrieve the one?
``Try and make plump the other!
``When Date's penance is done,
``Dabitur helps his brother.
VII.
``Only, beware relapse!''
The Abbot hung his head.
This beggar might be perhaps
An angel, Luther said.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 60 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | A XBCBC CXCX CXCX CXCB CACA DBDB CECE |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 911 |
Words | 155 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"Twins, The" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/30438/twins,-the>.
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