As It Is

Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)



If you and I
Had wings to fly -
Great wings like seagulls' wings -
How would we soar
Above the roar
Of loud unneeded things!

We two would rise
Through changing skies
To blue unclouded space,
And undismayed
And unafraid
Meet the sun face to face.

But wings we know not;
The feathers grow not
To carry us so high;
And low in the gloom
Of a little room
We weep and say good-bye.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

23 sec read
54

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABCCB DDEFFE FFAGGA
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 366
Words 77
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6

Edith Nesbit

Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland) was an English author and poet; she published her books for children under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 books of children's literature. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later affiliated to the Labour Party. more…

All Edith Nesbit poems | Edith Nesbit Books

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