Strange Are The Ways Of Men

Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 (Edinburgh) – 1894 (Vailima, Samoa)



STRANGE are the ways of men,
And strange the ways of God!
We tread the mazy paths
That all our fathers trod.

We tread them undismayed,
And undismayed behold
The portents of the sky,
The things that were of old.

The fiery stars pursue
Their course in heav'n on high;
And round the 'leaguered town,
Crest-tossing heroes cry.

Crest-tossing heroes cry;
And martial fifes declare
How small, to mortal minds,
Is merely mortal care.

And to the clang of steel
And cry of piercing flute
Upon the azure peaks
A God shall plant his foot:

A God in arms shall stand,
And seeing wide and far
The green and golden earth,
The killing tide of war,

He, with uplifted arm,
Shall to the skies proclaim
The gleeful fate of man,
The noble road to fame!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 12, 2023

41 sec read
78

Quick analysis:

Scheme xaxa abcb xcxC Cdxd xxxx xxxx xexe
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 711
Words 137
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. more…

All Robert Louis Stevenson poems | Robert Louis Stevenson Books

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