The Investiture
GOD with a Roll of Honour in His hand
Sits welcoming the heroes who have died,
While sorrowless angels ranked on either side
Stand easy in Elysium’s meadow-land.
Then you come shyly through the garden gate,
Wearing a blood-soaked bandage on your head;
And God says something kind because you’re dead,
And homesick, discontented with your fate.
If I were there we’d snowball Death with skulls;
Or ride away to hunt in Devil’s Wood
With ghosts of puppies that we walked of old.
But you’re alone; and solitude annuls
Our earthly jokes; and strangely wise and good
You roam forlorn along the streets of gold.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 61 Views
Quick analysis:
| Scheme | ABBACDDC EFGEFG |
|---|---|
| Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
| Characters | 620 |
| Words | 107 |
| Stanzas | 2 |
| Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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"The Investiture" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 15 Jan. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/34952/the-investiture>.
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