Playboy
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
I greet the challenge of the dawn
With weary, bleary eyes;
Into the sky so ashen wan
I wait the sun to rise;
Then in the morning's holy hush,
With heart of shame I hear
A robin from a lilac bush
Pipe pure and clear.
All night in dive and dicing den,
With wantons and with wine
I've squandered on wild, witless men
The fortune that was mine;
The gold my father fought to save
In folly I have spent;
And now to fill a pauper's grave
My steps are bent.
See! how the sky is amber bright!
The thrushes thrill their glee.
The dew-drops sparkle with delight,
And yonder smiles the sea.
Oh let me plunge to drown the pain
Of love and faith forgot:
Then purged I may return again,
--Or I may not.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 139 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XAXAXXXX BCBCDEDE FGFGXHBH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 789 |
Words | 138 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"Playboy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32362/playboy>.
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