August
Elinor Morton Wylie 1885 (Somerville, New Jersey) – 1928 (New York City, New York)
Why should this Negro insolently stride
Down the red noonday on such noiseless feet?
Piled in his barrow, tawnier than wheat,
Lie heaps of smouldering daisies, sombre-eyed,
Their copper petals shriveled up with pride,
Hot with a superfluity of heat,
Like a great brazier borne along the street
By captive leopards, black and burning pied.
Are there no water-lilies, smooth as cream,
With long stems dripping crystal? Are there none
Like those white lilies, luminous and cool,
Plucked from some hemlock-darkened northern stream
By fair-haired swimmers, diving where the sun
Scarce warms the surface of the deepest pool?
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 30 sec read
- 80 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAABBA CDECDE |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 625 |
Words | 100 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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Citation
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"August" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/10142/august>.
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