A Tragedy
John Boyle O'Reilly 1844 (Dowth) – 1890 (Boston)
A SOFT-BREASTED bird from the sea
Fell in love with the light-house flame;
And it wheeled round the tower on its airiest wing,
And floated and cried like a lovelorn thing;
It brooded all day and it fluttered all night,
But could win no look from the steadfast light.
For the flame had its heart afar,—
Afar with the ships at sea;
It was thinking of children and waiting wives,
And darkness and danger to sailors' lives;
But the bird had its tender bosom pressed
On the glass where at last it dashed its breast.
The light only flickered, the brighter to glow;
But the bird lay dead on the rocks below.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 113 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AXBBCC XAXXDDEE |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 608 |
Words | 115 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 8 |
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"A Tragedy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/21978/a-tragedy>.
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