Widow McFarlane

Edgar Lee Masters 1868 (Garnett) – 1950 (Elkins Park)



I was the Widow McFarlane,
Weaver of carpets for all the village.
And I pity you still at the loom of life,
You who are singing to the shuttle
And lovingly watching the work of your hands,
If you reach the day of hate, of terrible truth.
For the cloth of life is woven, you know,
To a pattern hidden under the loom --
A pattern you never see!
And you weave high-hearted, singing, singing,
You guard the threads of love and friendship
For noble figures in gold and purple.
And long after other eyes can see
You have woven a moon-white strip of cloth,
You laugh in your strength, for Hope overlays it
With shapes of love and beauty.
The loom stops short! The pattern's out!
You're alone in the room! You have woven a shroud!
And hate of it lays you in it!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

44 sec read
39

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKDILMINOM
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 743
Words 147
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 19

Edgar Lee Masters

Edgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist. more…

All Edgar Lee Masters poems | Edgar Lee Masters Books

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