I saw my life as whitest flame

Christopher John Brennan 1870 (Haymarket, New South Wales) – 1932 (Lewisham, New South Wales)



I saw my life as whitest flame
light-leaping in a crystal sky,
and virgin colour where it came
pass'd to its heart, in love to die.
It wrapped the world in tender harm
rose-flower'd with one ecstatic pang:
God walk'd amid the hush'd alarm,
and all the trembling region rang
music, whose silver veils dispart
around the carven silences
Memnonian in the hidden heart —
now blithe, effulgurant majesties.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

22 sec read
47

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDCDEFEF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 411
Words 71
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

Christopher John Brennan

Christopher John Brennan was an Australian poet, scholar and literary critic. more…

All Christopher John Brennan poems | Christopher John Brennan Books

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    "I saw my life as whitest flame" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/6018/i-saw-my-life-as-whitest-flame>.

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