Armed



Give me to-night to hide me in the shade,
        That neither moon nor star
    May see the secret place where I am laid,
        Nor watch me from afar.

    Let not the dark its prying ghosts employ
        To peer on my retreat,
    And see the fragments of my broken toy
        Lie scattered at my feet.

    I fashioned it, that idol of my own,
        Of metal strange and bright;
    I made my toy a god - I raised a throne
        To honour my delight.

    This haunted byway of the grove was lit
        With lamps my hand had trimmed,
    Before the altar in the midst of it
        I kept their flame undimmed.

    My steps turned ever to the hidden shrine;
        Aware or unaware,
    My soul dwelt only in that spot divine,
        And now a wreck lies there.

    Give me to-night to weep - when dawn is spread
        Beyond the heavy trees,
    And in the east the day is heralded
        By cloud-wrought companies,

    I shall have gathered up my heart's desire,
        Broken, destroyed, adored,
    And from its splinters, in a deathless fire,
        I shall have forged a sword.
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Submitted by naama on July 15, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

55 sec read
4

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GXGA HIHI XJXJ KLKL
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,075
Words 184
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Violet Jacob

Violet Jacob (1 September 1863 – 9 September 1946) was a Scottish writer, now known especially for her historical novel Flemington and for her poetry, mainly in Scots. more…

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    "Armed" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/54340/armed>.

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