Formerly A Slave



The sufferance of her race is shown,
And retrospect of life,
Which now too late deliverance dawns upon;
Yet is she not at strife.

Her children's children they shall know
The good withheld from her;
And so her reverie takes prophetic cheer--
In spirit she sees the stir.

Far down the depth of thousand years,
And marks the revel shine;
Her dusky face is lit with sober light,
Sibylline, yet benign.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 11, 2023

22 sec read
321

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA XBXB XCXC
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 394
Words 73
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

Herman Melville

Herman Melville was an American writer best known for the novel Moby-Dick. more…

All Herman Melville poems | Herman Melville Books

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