79
Joachim du Bellay 1525 (Liré) – 1560 (Paris)
I do not write of love: I am no lover.
I do not write of beauty: I have no woman.
I do not write of gentleness but the human
rudeness I see. And my pleasures are all over,
so I do not try to write of pleasure, but only
misery. Favors? No, I am on my own.
I do not write of riches: I have none.
Or of life at court, when I'm far from it and lonely.
I do not write of health, for I'm often ill.
I cannot write of France from a Roman hill.
Or honor? I see so little of that about.
I cannot write of friendship but only pretence.
I will not write of virtue, here in its absence.
Or knowledge or faith, in ignorance and doubt.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 127 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBACXBC DDEFFE |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 616 |
Words | 134 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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"79" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/21338/79>.
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