The livid lightnings flashed in the clouds

Stephen Crane 1871 – 1900



The livid lightnings flashed in the clouds;
The leaden thunders crashed.
A worshipper raised his arm.
"Hearken! Hearken! The voice of God!"

"Not so," said a man.
"The voice of God whispers in the heart
So softly
That the soul pauses,
Making no noise,
And strives for these melodies,
Distant, sighing, like faintest breath,
And all the being is still to hear."

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

19 sec read
609

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXXX XXXXXXXX
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 367
Words 67
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 4, 8

Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane was an American politician from Elizabethtown who was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776. more…

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