Sonnet 18 - I never gave a lock of hair away
XVIII
I never gave a lock of hair away
To a man, Dearest, except this to thee,
Which now upon my fingers thoughtfully,
I ring out to the full brown length and say
'Take it.' My day of youth went yesterday;
My hair no longer bounds to my foot's glee,
Nor plant I it from rose or myrtle-tree,
As girls do, any more: it only may
Now shade on two pale cheeks the mark of tears,
Taught drooping from the head that hangs aside
Through sorrow's trick. I thought the funeral-shears
Would take this first, but Love is justified,—
Take it thou,—finding pure, from all those years,
The kiss my mother left here when she died.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 08, 2023
- 36 sec read
- 203 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAABBACDEDCD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 612 |
Words | 121 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"Sonnet 18 - I never gave a lock of hair away" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Dec. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/10268/sonnet-18---i-never-gave-a-lock-of-hair-away>.
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