Sorrow’s Importunity

Alfred Austin 1835 (Leeds) – 1913 (Ashford)



When Sorrow first came wailing to my door,
April rehearsed the madrigal of May;
And, as I ne'er had seen her face before,
I kept on singing, and she went her way.

When next came Sorrow, life was winged with scent
Of glistening laurel and full-blossoming bay:
I asked, but understood not, what she meant,
Offered her flowers, and she went her way.

When yet a third time Sorrow came, we met
In the ripe silence of an Autumn day:
I gave her fruit I had gathered, and she ate,
Then seemed to go unwillingly away.

When last came Sorrow, around barn and byre
Wind-carven snow, the Year's white sepulchre, lay.
``Come in,'' I said, ``and warm you by the fire.''
And there she sits, and never goes away.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
90

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CBCB XBXB ABXB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 688
Words 133
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Alfred Austin

Alfred Austin DL was an English poet who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1896 upon the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. more…

All Alfred Austin poems | Alfred Austin Books

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