Childhood
Victor-Marie Hugo 1802 ( Besançon) – 1885 (Paris)
The small child sang; the mother, outstretched on the
low bed,
With anguish moaned, - fair Form pain should possess
not long;
For, ever nigher, Death hovered around her head:
I hearkened there this moan, and heard even there
that song.
The child was but five years, and, close to the lattice,
aye
Made a sweet noise with games and with his laughter
bright;
And the wan mother, aside this being the livelong day
Carolling joyously, coughed hoarsely all the night.
The mother went to sleep 'mong them that sleep
alway;
And the blithe little lad began anew to sing...
Sorrow is like a fruit: God doth not therewith weigh
Earthward the branch strong yet but for the
blossoming.
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Submitted by naama on July 15, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 12 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXCBXC XXXDED XXFEAF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 734 |
Words | 119 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 6, 6 |
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"Childhood" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/54330/childhood>.
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