Analysis of Completion
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
When I shall meet God’s generous dispensers
Of all the riches in the heavenly store,
Those lesser gods, who act as Recompensers
For loneliness and loss upon this shore,
Methinks abashed, and somewhat hesitating,
My soul its wish and longing will declare,
Lest they reply: ‘Here are no bounties waiting:
We gave on earth, your portion and your share.’
Then shall I answer: ‘Yea, I do remember
The many blessings to my life allowed;
My June was always longer than December,
My sun was always stronger than my cloud,
My joy was ever deeper than my sorrow,
My gain was ever greater than my loss,
My yesterday seemed less than my to-morrow,
The crown looked always larger than the cross.
‘I have known love in all its radiant splendour,
It shone upon my pathway to the end.
I trod no road that did not bloom with tender
And fragrant blossoms, planted by some friend.
And those material things we call successes,
In modest measure, crowned my earthly lot.
Yet there was one sweet happiness that blesses
The life of woman, which to me came not.
‘I knew the hope of motherhood; a season
I felt a fluttering heart beat ‘neath my own;
A little cry- then silence. For that reason
I dare, to you, my only wish make known.
The babe who grew to angelhood in heaven,
I never watched unfold from child to man.
And so I ask, that unto me be given
That motherhood, which was God’s eternal plan.
‘All womanhood He meant to share its glories;
He meant us all to nurse our babes to rest.
To croon them songs, to tell them sleepy stories,
Else why the wonder of a woman’s breast?
‘He must provide for all earth’s cheated mothers
In His vast heavens of shining sphere on sphere,
And with my son, there must be many others –
My spirit children who will claim me here.
‘Fair creatures by my loving thoughts created –
Too finely fashioned for a mortal birth –
Between the borders of two wounds they waited
Until they saw my spirit leave the earth.
In God’s great nursery they must be waiting
To welcome me with many an infant wile.
Now let me go and satisfy this longing
To mother children for a little while.’
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH BIEIXJXJ KLKLKMKM NONOAXAX PQPQCRCR |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111100010 11010001001 11011111 1100010111 101011100 1111010101 11011111010 1111110011 11110111010 0101011101 1111101010 111110111 11110101110 1111010111 1101111110 011110101 11110111001 110111101 11111111110 0101010111 010100111010 0101011101 11111100110 0111011111 1101110010 11010011111 01011101110 1111110111 011111010 1101011111 01111101110 1101110101 1101111110 11111110111 11111111010 110101011 11011111010 01110110111 01111111010 1101011111 11011101010 1101010101 01010111110 0111110101 01110011110 11011101101 1111010110 1101010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,125 |
Words | 388 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 272 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 64 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:56 min read
- 37 Views
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"Completion" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10571/completion>.
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