An Old Idea
STREAM of my life, dull, placid river, flow!
I have no fear of the ingulfing seas:
Neither I look before me nor behind,
But, lying mute with wave-dipped hand, float on.
It was not always so. My brethren, see
This oar-stained, trembling palm. It keeps the sign
Of youth's mad wrestling with the waves that drift
Immutably, eternally along.
I would have had them flow through fields and flowers,
Giving and taking freshness, perfume, joy;
It winds through--here. Be silent, O my soul!
--The finger of God's wisdom drew its line.
So I lean back and look up to the stars,
And count the ripples circling to the shore,
And watch the solemn river rolling on
Until it widen to the open seas.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 103 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XAXB XCXX XXXC XXBA |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 691 |
Words | 125 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"An Old Idea" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 17 Mar. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/7989/an-old-idea>.
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