Sonnet XXV



As in the midst of battle there is room
For thoughts of love, and in foul sin for mirth;
As gossips whisper of a trinket's worth
Spied by the death-bed's flickering candle-gloom;
As in the crevices of Caesar's tomb
The sweet herbs flourish on a little earth
So in this great disaster of our birth
We can be happy, and forget our doom.

For morning, with a ray of tenderest joy
Gilding the iron heaven, hides the truth,
And evening gently woos us to employ
Our grief in idle catches. Such is youth;
Till from that summer's trance we wake, to find
Despair before us, vanity behind.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
72

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABBA CDCDEE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 573
Words 109
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6

George Santayana

Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known as George Santayana, was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. more…

All George Santayana poems | George Santayana Books

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