Words

Charles Harpur 1813 (Windsor) – 1868 (Australia)



Words are deeds. The words we hear
May revolutionize or rear
A mighty state. The words we read
May be a spiritual deed
Excelling any fleshly one,
As much as the celestial sun
Transcends a bonfire, made to throw
A light upon some raree-show.
A simple proverb tagged with rhyme
May colour half the course of time;
The pregnant saying of a sage
May influence every coming age;
A song in its effects may be
More glorious than Thermopylae,
And many a lay that schoolboys scan
A nobler feat than Inkerman.

 

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 31, 2023

27 sec read
70

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEEFFGGHHIJKE
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 508
Words 93
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 16

Charles Harpur

Charles Harpur was an Australian poet. more…

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