Jewels: A Young Man to a Merchant

Herbert Asquith 1881 – 1947



OLD Man, your pearls are not for us,
    Your rubies die too soon:
Have you the pearls of Sirius,
    Or opals of the moon?

I do not ask for other gems;
    Flashing with frost and fire
The sky's undying diadems
    Shall be my love's attire.

Emeralds, that into rubies melt
    Upon the brow of night,
I've taken from Orion's belt
    To make her girdle bright.

On high ways of the albatross
    I scale the purple air
For sapphires of the Southern Cross
    And wreath them in her hair

Her robe it is the morning sky,
    Her veil it is the West;
So robed, so veiled my love will fly.
    When I am gone to rest.

Yet all the rays of all the moons,
    The lights of all the skies
Are pale beside the dim lagoons
    Of those mysterious eyes.

Old Man, your pearls are not for us,
    Your rubies die too soon:
Have you the pearls of Sirius,
    Or opals of the moon

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

50 sec read
28

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB xcac dede xfxf ghgh ijij ABAB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 847
Words 165
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Herbert Asquith

The Hon. Herbert Asquith was an English poet, novelist and lawyer. more…

All Herbert Asquith poems | Herbert Asquith Books

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