If Truth in Hearts That Perish



If truth in hearts that perish
Could move the powers on high,
I think the love I bear you
Should make you not to die.

Sure, sure, if stedfast meaning,
If single thought could save,
The world might end to-morrow,
You should not see the grave.

This long and sure-set liking,
This boundless will to please,
--Oh, you should live for ever,
If there were help in these.

But now, since all is idle,
To this lost heart be kind,
Ere to a town you journey
Where friends are ill to find.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 05, 2023

28 sec read
171

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA BCXC BDXD XEXE
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 485
Words 94
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Alfred Edward Housman

Alfred Edward Housman, usually known as A. E. Housman, was an English classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad.  more…

All Alfred Edward Housman poems | Alfred Edward Housman Books

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    "If Truth in Hearts That Perish" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/885/if-truth-in-hearts-that-perish>.

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