The Lovers



One idle hour she sought to see
Whose image 'twas he cherished so
(All fondly certain whose 'twould be),
And found - a girl she did not know.

A trusty maiden's modest face,
All innocence and purity.
'What nun is this that fills my place?
Alas, he loves me not!' sighed she.

'Nay, daughter, let no foolish fears
Your trust in his devotion mar,'
Her mother said.  'Come, dry your tears;
That is the girl he thinks you are.'

All fondly curious with love
(Half guessing what he would lay bare)
He rifled her heart's treasure trove,
And found - a stranger's image there.

'This is the man she loves!' said he,
And, searching in the noble face,
Read high resolve and constancy.
'This saint,' he cried, 'usurps my place!'

'Nay,' spake his friend.  'Your anger cool;
Gaze on that God-like face once more:
Then be satisfied, O fool;
That is the man she takes you for.'

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

48 sec read
59

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CACA XDXD XEXE ACAC FGFG
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 843
Words 167
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet known for his humorous poems, especially "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke", published in the early 20th century. Though Dennis's work is less well known today, his 1915 publication of The Sentimental Bloke sold 65,000 copies in its first year, and by 1917 he was the most prosperous poet in Australian history. Together with Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson, both of whom he had collaborated with, he is often considered among Australia's three most famous poets. While attributed to Lawson by 1911, Dennis later claimed he himself was the 'laureate of the larrikin'. When he died at the age of 61, the Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons suggested he was destined to be remembered as the 'Australian Robert Burns'. more…

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