Solar

Philip Larkin 1922 (Coventry) – 1985 (Hull)



Suspended lion face
Spilling at the centre
Of an unfurnished sky
How still you stand,
And how unaided
Single stalkless flower
You pour unrecompensed.

The eye sees you
Simplified by distance
Into an origin,
Your petalled head of flames
Continuously exploding.
Heat is the echo of your
Gold.

Coined there among
Lonely horizontals
You exist openly.
Our needs hourly
Climb and return like angels.
Unclosing like a hand,
You give for ever.
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on June 13, 2020

Modified on April 28, 2023

21 sec read
810

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABXCXBC XXXXXXX XADDXCB
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 414
Words 72
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7

Philip Larkin

Philip Larkin was born in 1922 and grew up in Coventry, England. He earned his BA from St John's College, Oxford, and finished with First Class Honours in English. In 1955 he became Librarian of the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull, a post he held until his death in 1985. He was the best-loved poet of his generation, and the recipient of innumerable honours, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. more…

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