Analysis of Unofficial
Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)
ONE morning, my heart can remember,
I sat dreaming there,
In the 'governor's' chair
In the office. The month was November,
And the weather a subject for prayer.
My mind strayed through visions unbounded--
Far-off seemed the din
That King William Street's in,
And the quill of the 'junior' sounded
Like the squeak of an elf's violin.
I was roused with a start--some one entered.
Though ground-glass divide
Off the sanctum inside,
The star where my homage was centred
In the office without I descried.
'Oh, kind Fate, to bring me my Kitty!
The boy I can send
At the bank to attend:
One partner's just gone from the City,
And the other is at the West End.
'Change two pounds, boy, for threepenny pieces!
And there isn't a franc
In the place!--I will thank
You to take down these coupons from Creasy's
To the London and Westminster Bank.'
He is gone! This can never be Kitty,
Alone here with me!
Can this ever be she,
Laughing here in the heart of the City,
With the old office cat on her knee?
'I hope, Ben,' she says, 'you are stronger,
And I hope it's not true
Work is injuring you;
And I'd better not stay any longer,
As you seem to have so much to do!'
But she does not go yet. Still she lingers,
Dry deed-boxes press
The crisp folds of her dress,
While the desk feels inquisitive fingers
In a touch that is half a caress.
Now, dreary and quiet the place is;
Here's the space on the floor
I remember of yore,
Which was brushed by her ribbons and laces
As she smiled her 'good-bye' at the door.
The violets she wore in her bosom,
So scented, dew-wet,
Are hard to forget;
The dim office grew fair with each blossom,
And their fragrance seems haunting it yet.
I'm in partnership now with old Bradley;
His brother is dead,
So I stand as the Head
Of affairs; and I'm thinking thus sadly
Of the sweetness of days that have fled.
My Wimbledon house--all that's in it--
My life, with its dower
Of money-bag power--
I would throw to the dogs in a minute,
To recall from those days but one hour.
Lost light of my eyes, little Kitty!
Too late now, too late;
But I'd give my estate
To be once more a clerk in the City--
In the office with you tête-à-tête.
Scheme | ABBAB CDDXD XEECC FGGFG HIIHI FFFFF AJJAJ KLLKL XMMHM NOONO FPPFP XXAXA FQQFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (31%) |
Metre | 110111010 11101 001001 0010011010 001000111 111110010 11101 111010 001101010 101111001 1111011110 11101 101001 01111011 00100111 111111110 01111 101101 110111010 001011011 11111110 011001 001111 11111111 10100101 1111110110 01111 111011 1010011010 101101101 111111110 011111 111001 0110111010 111111111 1111111110 11101 011101 1011010010 001111001 110010011 101101 101011 1111010010 111011101 0100110010 11011 11101 0110111110 011011011 101011110 11011 111101 1010110110 101011111 110011101 11111 110110 1111010010 111111110 111111010 11111 111101 1111010010 0010111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,155 |
Words | 411 |
Sentences | 23 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 65 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 125 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:06 min read
- 112 Views
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"Unofficial" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/9049/unofficial>.
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