The Refusal

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



MINE is a palace fair to see,
All hung with gold and silver things,
It is more glorious than a king's,
And crownèd queens might envy me.

Ah, no, I will not let you in!
Stay rather at the gates and weep
For all the splendour that I keep,
The treasures that you cannot win.

While you desire and I refuse,
For both the palace still is here--
Its turrets gold, its silver gear
Are yours to wish for--mine to use.

But if I let you in, I know
The spell would break, the palace fade,
And we stand, trembling and afraid,
Lost in the dark where chill winds blow.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
76

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBA CDDC XXXX EFFE
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 562
Words 112
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

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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