In Praise of Songs that Die
Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)
AFTER HAVING READ A GREAT DEAL OF GOOD CURRENT POETRY IN THE MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS
Ah, they are passing, passing by,
Wonderful songs, but born to die!
Cries from the infinite human seas,
Waves thrice-winged with harmonies.
Here I stand on a pier in the foam
Seeing the songs to the beach go home,
Dying in sand while the tide flows back,
As it flowed of old in its fated track.
Oh, hurrying tide that will not hear
Your own foam children dying near
Is there no refuge-house of song,
No home, no haven where songs belong?
Oh, precious hymns that come and go!
You perish, and I love you so!
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 101 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | X AABBCCDDXXEEFF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 585 |
Words | 113 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 14 |
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"In Praise of Songs that Die" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/37300/in-praise-of-songs-that-die>.
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