Prayer
Hilda Doolittle 1886 (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) – 1961 (Zurich)
White, O white face—
from disenchanted days
wither alike dark rose
and fiery bays:
no gift within our hands,
nor strength to praise,
only defeat and silence;
though we lift hands, disenchanted,
of small strength, nor raise
branch of the laurel
or the light of torch,
but fold the garment
on the riven locks,
yet hear, all-merciful, and touch
the fore-head, dim, unlit of pride and thought,
Mistress–be near!
Give back the glamour to our will,
the thought; give back the tool,
the chisel; once we wrought
things not unworthy,
sandal and steel-clasp;
silver and steel, the coat
with white leaf-pattern
at the arm and throat:
silver and metal, hammered for the ridge
of shield and helmet-rim;
white silver with the darker hammered in,
belt, staff and magic spear-shaft
with the gilt spark at the point and hilt.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 28, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 43 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCBDBEFBGHIJKLMNOLPQRSRTUVWX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 816 |
Words | 140 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 29 |
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"Prayer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/19277/prayer>.
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