A Nameless Grave

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)



'A soldier of the Union mustered out,'
Is the inscription on an unknown grave
At Newport News, beside the salt-sea wave,
Nameless and dateless; sentinel or scout
Shot down in skirmish, or disastrous rout
Of battle, when the loud artillery drave
Its iron wedges through the ranks of brave
And doomed battalions, storming the redoubt.
Thou unknown hero sleeping by the sea
In thy forgotten grave! with secret shame
I feel my pulses beat, my forehead burn,
When I remember thou hast given for me
All that thou hadst, thy life, thy very name,
And I can give thee nothing in return.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 30, 2023

31 sec read
262

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABBACDECDE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 572
Words 105
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. more…

All Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poems | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Books

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