At Seventeen
Arthur Symons 1865 (Milford Haven) – 1945
You were a child, and liked me, yesterday.
To-day you are a woman, and perhaps
Those softer eyes betoken the sweet lapse
Of liking into loving: who shall say?
Only I know that there can be for us
No liking more, nor any kisses now,
But they shall wake sweet shame upon your brow
Sweetly, or in a rose calamitous.
Trembling upon the verge of some new dawn
You stand, as if awakened out of sleep,
And it is I who cried to you, 'Arise!'
I who would fain call back the child that's gone,
And what you lost for me would have you keep,
Fearing to meet the woman of your eyes.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 107 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBACDDC EFGEFG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 565 |
Words | 116 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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"At Seventeen" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/3932/at-seventeen>.
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