What is Life?
John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)
And what is Life? An hour-glass on the run,
A mist retreating from the morning sun,
A busy, bustling, still-repeated dream.
Its length? A minute's pause, a moment's thought.
And Happiness? A bubble on the stream,
That in the act of seizing shrinks to nought.
And what is Hope? The puffing gale of morn,
That of its charms divests the dewy lawn,
And robs each flow'ret of its gem -and dies;
A cobweb, hiding disappointment's thorn,
Which stings more keenly through the thin disguise.
And what is Death? Is still the cause unfound?
That dark mysterious name of horrid sound?
A long and lingering sleep the weary crave.
And Peace? Where can its happiness abound?
Nowhere at all, save heaven and the grave.
Then what is Life? When stripped of its disguise,
A thing to be desired it cannot be;
Since everything that meets our foolish eyes
Gives proof sufficient of its vanity.
'Tis but a trial all must undergo,
To teach unthankful mortals how to prize
That happiness vain man's denied to know,
Until he's called to claim it in the skies.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 186 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABCBC DXEDE CFGFG EHEHIEIE |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,018 |
Words | 185 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 5, 5, 8 |
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"What is Life?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/22358/what-is-life?>.
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