The Last Ode

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



Nov. 27, 8 B.C. Horace, BK. V. Ode 31

As watchers couched beneath a Bantine oak,
Hearing the dawn-wind stir,
Know that the present strength of night is broke
Though no dawn threaten her
Till dawn's appointed hour--so Virgil died,
Aware of change at hand, and prophesied

Change upon all the Eternal Gods had made
And on the Gods alike--
Fated as dawn but, as the dawn, delayed
Till the just hour should strike--

A Star new-risen above the living and dead;
And the lost shades that were our loves restored
As lovers, and for ever. So he said;
Having received the word...

Maecenas waits me on the Esquiline:
Thither to-night go I....
And shall this dawn restore us, Virgil mine
To dawn? Beneath what sky?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
96

Quick analysis:

Scheme X ABABCC DEDE FXFX GHGH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 691
Words 129
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 1, 6, 4, 4, 4

Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English short-story writer, poet, and novelist chiefly remembered for his tales and poems of British soldiers in India and his tales for children. more…

All Rudyard Kipling poems | Rudyard Kipling Books

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