Ballade of a Special Edition

Amy Levy 1861 (London) – 1889 (London)



He comes; I hear him up the street--
Bird of ill omen, flapping wide
The pinion of a printed sheet,
His hoarse note scares the eventide.
Of slaughter, theft, and suicide
He is the herald and the friend;
Now he vociferates with pride--
A double murder in Mile End!

A hanging to his soul is sweet;
His gloating fancy's fain to bide
Where human-freighted vessels meet,
And misdirected trains collide.
With Shocking Accidents supplied,
He tramps the town from end to end.
How often have we heard it cried--
A double murder in Mile End.

War loves he; victory or defeat,
So there be loss on either side.
His tale of horrors incomplete,
Imagination's aid is tried.
Since no distinguished man has died,
And since the Fates, relenting, send
No great catastrophe, he's spied
This double murder in Mile End.

Fiend, get thee gone! no more repeat
Those sounds which do mine ears offend.
It is apocryphal, you cheat,
Your double murder in Mile End.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

51 sec read
125

Quick analysis:

Scheme abaabcbC ababbcbC ababbcbc acac
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 915
Words 167
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 4

Amy Levy

Amy Levy was a British essayist, poet, and novelist best remembered for her feminist positions and her homosexual romances during the Victorian era. more…

All Amy Levy poems | Amy Levy Books

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    "Ballade of a Special Edition" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/2115/ballade-of-a-special-edition>.

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