A Complaint

William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)



There is a change--and I am poor;
Your love hath been, nor long ago,
A fountain at my fond heart's door,
Whose only business was to flow;
And flow it did; not taking heed
Of its own bounty, or my need.

What happy moments did I count!
Blest was I then all bliss above!
Now, for that consecrated fount
Of murmuring, sparkling, living love,
What have I? Shall I dare to tell?
A comfortless and hidden well.

A well of love--it may be deep--
I trust it is,--and never dry:
What matter? If the waters sleep
In silence and obscurity.
--Such change, and at the very door
Of my fond heart, hath made me poor.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 26, 2023

35 sec read
666

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBDD XEDEFF GXGXCA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 590
Words 118
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was the husband of Eva Bartok. more…

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