What Is To Come

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



What is to come we know not. But we know
That what has been was good--was good to show,
Better to hide, and best of all to bear.
We are the masters of the days that were:
We have lived, we have loved, we have suffered . . . even so.

Shall we not take the ebb who had the flow?
Life was our friend. Now, if it be our foe -
Dear, though it spoil and break us!--need we care
What is to come?

Let the great winds their worst and wildest blow,
Or the gold weather round us mellow slow:
We have fulfilled ourselves, and we can dare
And we can conquer, though we may not share
In the rich quiet of the afterglow
What is to come.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 09, 2023

39 sec read
92

Quick analysis:

Scheme aabxa aabC aabbaC
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 615
Words 130
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 5, 4, 6

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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