Song #4.

Robert Crawford 1959 (Bellshill)



They have been here and had this light
Who in their graves are lying,
And e'en the youngest life to-night
Is gradually dying.
Our birth's a kind of death we have
When we upon time waken,
A step still nearer to the grave
With every breath is taken.
We are doomed being born, as 'twere
Decay within us breeding,
Or e'en as time did groan and bear
But death's immortal seeding;
For we are made of stuff that goes
So easy to decaying,
'Tis at the best the spirit's clothes
In which it goes a-Maying.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
23

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDEDFBFBGBHB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 488
Words 97
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 16

Robert Crawford

Robert Crawford FRSE FBA is a Scottish poet, scholar and critic. He is currently Professor of English at the University of St Andrews.  more…

All Robert Crawford poems | Robert Crawford Books

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