Pursuit and Possession

Thomas Bailey Aldrich 1836 (Portsmouth) – 1907 (Boston)



When I behold what pleasure is pursuit,
What life, what glorious eagerness it is;
Then mark how full possession falls from this,
How fairer seems the blossom than the fruit --
I am perplexed, and often stricken mute
Wondering which attained the higher bliss,
The wingèd insect, or the chrysalis
It thrust aside with unreluctant foot.
Spirit of verse, that still elud'st my art,
Thou uncaught rapture, thou swift-fleeting fire,
O let me follow thee with hungry heart
If beauty's full possession kill desire!
Still flit away in moonlight, rain, and dew,
Will-of-the-wisp, that I may still pursue!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
119

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCAACCDEFEFGG
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 603
Words 100
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

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