A Creed



That I should live and look with open eyes
I count as half my claim to Paradise.
I have not crept beneath cathedral arches,
But bathed in streams beneath the silver larches;
  
And have not grovelled to the Sunday priest,
But found an unconfined and daily feast;
Was called ungodly, and to those who blamed
Laughed back defiance and was not ashamed.
  
Some hold their duty to be mournful; why?
I cannot love your weeping poets; I
Am sad in winter, but in summer gay,
And vary with each variable day.
  
And though the pious cavilled at my mirth,
At least I rendered thanks for God's fair earth,
Grateful that I, among the murmuring rest,
Was not an unappreciative guest.
  
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
9

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXXA BBCC DDEE FFGG
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 658
Words 123
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Victoria Mary Sackville-West

Victoria Mary Sackville-West, Lady Nicolson, (9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. more…

All Victoria Mary Sackville-West poems | Victoria Mary Sackville-West Books

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    "A Creed" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/56860/a-creed>.

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