Woodspurge

Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828 (London) – 1882 (Birchington-on-Sea)



The wind flapped loose, the wind was still,
Shaken out dead from tree and hill:
I had walk’d on at the wind’s will,—
I sat now, for the wind was still.

Between my knees my forehead was,—
My lips, drawn in, said not Alas!
My hair was over in the grass,
My naked ears heard the day pass.

My eyes, wide open, had the run
Of some ten weeds to fix upon;
Among those few, out of the sun,
The woodspurge flower’d, three cups in one.

From perfect grief there need not be
Wisdom or even memory:
One thing learnt remains to me,—
The woodspurge has a cup of three.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

34 sec read
120

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAAA XBBB CXCC DDDD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 558
Words 115
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. more…

All Dante Gabriel Rossetti poems | Dante Gabriel Rossetti Books

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