The Great Misgiving

William Watson 1858 (Burley in Wharfedale) – 1935 (Rottingdean)



'NOT ours,' say some, 'the thought of death to dread;
   Asking no heaven, we fear no fabled hell:
Life is a feast, and we have banqueted--
   Shall not the worms as well?

'The after-silence, when the feast is o'er,
   And void the places where the minstrels stood,
Differs in nought from what hath been before,
   And is nor ill nor good.'

Ah, but the Apparition--the dumb sign--
   The beckoning finger bidding me forgo
The fellowship, the converse, and the wine,
   The songs, the festal glow!

And ah, to know not, while with friends I sit,
   And while the purple joy is pass'd about,
Whether 'tis ampler day divinelier lit
   Or homeless night without;

And whether, stepping forth, my soul shall see
   New prospects, or fall sheer--a blinded thing!
There is, O grave, thy hourly victory,
   And there, O death, thy sting.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

43 sec read
100

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB XCXC DEDE FGFG HIHI
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 835
Words 145
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

William Watson

William Watson, was a surgeon in the 105th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers during the American Civil War. more…

All William Watson poems | William Watson Books

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