Analysis of Four springtimes lost: and in the fifth we stand

Christopher John Brennan 1870 (Haymarket, New South Wales) – 1932 (Lewisham, New South Wales)



Four springtimes lost: and in the fifth we stand,
here in this quiet hour of glory, still,
while o'er the bridal land
the westering sun dwells in untroubled gold,
a bridegroom proud of his permitted will,
whom grateful rapture suffers not be bold,
but tender now and bland
his amber locks and bended gaze are shed,
brimming, above the couch'd and happy clime:
all is content and ripe delight, full-fed.
And as your fingers brush my hand
so too the winning time
would charm me from regretful reverie
that keeps me somewhat sad, remembering —
not the old woodland days, for thou art near
and hold'st them safely hid
to rise and shine again, when waning skies shall bid —
but later dawns o' the year, away from thee
liv'd thro', even here,
and golden embraces of the light-hearted time
when I was sad at heart, remembering
the clear enchantments of our single year,
our woodland prime of love, its violet-budded vow,
receding ever now
farther and farther down the past, a gleam
that turns to softest pearl the luminous haze
drifting between in from the golden days
when I was sad at inmost heart, remembering
thee and the woodland season of bright laughter: —
so in my perverse and most loitering dream
(O fading, fading days!)
each season claims the homage due, long after
its glory has faded to an outcast thing.


Scheme ABACBCADEDAEFGHIIFJEGHKKELLGMELMG
Poetic Form
Metre 111000111 10110101101 1100101 011100101 011110101 1101010111 110101 1101010111 1001010101 1110010111 01110111 110101 1111010100 1111110100 101111111 0111101 110101110111 11011010111 11101 010010101101 1111110100 011110101 101111110011 010101 1001010101 11110101001 1001010101 11111110100 1001101110 10101011001 110101 11010101110 1101101111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,325
Words 236
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 33
Lines Amount 33
Letters per line (avg) 31
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 1,036
Words per stanza (avg) 233
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:12 min read
128

Christopher John Brennan

Christopher John Brennan was an Australian poet, scholar and literary critic. more…

All Christopher John Brennan poems | Christopher John Brennan Books

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