Nocturn

William Ernest Henley 1849 (Gloucester) – 1903 (Woking)



At the barren heart of midnight,
When the shadow shuts and opens
As the loud flames pulse and flutter,
I can hear a cistern leaking.

Dripping, dropping, in a rhythm,
Rough, unequal, half-melodious,
Like the measures aped from nature
In the infancy of music;

Like the buzzing of an insect,
Still, irrational, persistent . . .
I must listen, listen, listen
In a passion of attention;

Till it taps upon my heartstrings,
And my very life goes dripping,
Dropping, dripping, drip-drip-dropping,
In the drip-drop of the cistern.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

25 sec read
49

Quick analysis:

Scheme XABC XXBX XXDD ACCX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 514
Words 86
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley was an English poet, critic and editor, best remembered for his 1875 poem "Invictus". more…

All William Ernest Henley poems | William Ernest Henley Books

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