A Sombre Retrospect
Long, long ago, in that heroic time
When I, a coy and modest youth, was shot
Out on this dust-heap of careers and crime
To try and learn what's what,
I had a servitor, a swarthy knave,
Who showed an almost irreligious taste
For wearing nothing but a turban, save
A rag about the waist.
This apparition gave me such a start,
That I endowed him with a cast-off pair
Of inexpressibles, and said, 'Depart,
And be no longer bare.'
He took the offering with broken thanks;
But day succeeded day, and still revealed
Those sombre and attenuated shanks
Intensely unconcealed;
Until at last the climax came when I
Resolved to bring this matter to an end,
And when I saw him passing, shouted, 'Hi!
Where are your trousers, friend?'
Halting, he gave a deferential bow;
Then, to my horror, beamingly replied,
'Master not see? I wearing trousers now!'
I would have said he lied,
But could not. As I shaped the glowing phrase,
I looked upon his turban - looked again -
Mine own familiar pattern met my gaze,
And all the truth was plain!
Th' unhappy creature, Eastern to the core,
Holding my gift in superstitious dread,
Had made a turban out of it, and wore
His trousers - on his head!
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | AXAX BCBC DEDE FGFG HIHI JKJK LXLX MNMN |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,160 |
Words | 224 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"A Sombre Retrospect" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/55933/a-sombre-retrospect>.
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