In Memoriam A. H. H.: 55. The wish, that of the living whol



The wish, that of the living whole
        No life may fail beyond the grave,
        Derives it not from what we have
    The likest God within the soul?
    Are God and Nature then at strife,
        That Nature lends such evil dreams?
        So careful of the type she seems,
    So careless of the single life;
    That I, considering everywhere
       Her secret meaning in her deeds,
       And finding that of fifty seeds
   She often brings but one to bear,

   I falter where I firmly trod,
       And falling with my weight of cares
       Upon the great world's altar-stairs
   That slope thro' darkness up to God,

   I stretch lame hands of faith, and grope,
       And gather dust and chaff, and call
       To what I feel is Lord of all,
   And faintly trust the larger hope.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 13, 2023

39 sec read
105

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXXABCCBDEED FGGF HIIH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 779
Words 132
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 12, 4, 4

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets.  more…

All Alfred Lord Tennyson poems | Alfred Lord Tennyson Books

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    "In Memoriam A. H. H.: 55. The wish, that of the living whol" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/1016/in-memoriam-a.-h.-h.:-55.-the-wish,-that-of-the-living-whol>.

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