Song of the Soldier's Wifes.

Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)



I

At last!  In sight of home again,
     Of home again;
No more to range and roam again
  As at that bygone time?
No more to go away from us
     And stay from us? -
Dawn, hold not long the day from us,
  But quicken it to prime!

II

Now all the town shall ring to them,
     Shall ring to them,
And we who love them cling to them
  And clasp them joyfully;
And cry, "O much we'll do for you
     Anew for you,
Dear Loves!--aye, draw and hew for you,
  Come back from oversea."

III

Some told us we should meet no more,
     Should meet no more;
Should wait, and wish, but greet no more
  Your faces round our fires;
That, in a while, uncharily
     And drearily
Men gave their lives--even wearily,
  Like those whom living tires.

IV

And now you are nearing home again,
     Dears, home again;
No more, may be, to roam again
  As at that bygone time,
Which took you far away from us
     To stay from us;
Dawn, hold not long the day from us,
  But quicken it to prime!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

56 sec read
66

Quick analysis:

Scheme aaaBccCB dddefffe gggheeeh aaaBccCB
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 974
Words 189
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy, was not a Scottish Minister, not a Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland nor a Professor of Eccesiastical History at Edinburgh University. more…

All Thomas Hardy poems | Thomas Hardy Books

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