Life And Death.

Robert Crawford 1959 (Bellshill)



We come like bats that out of a dark cave
Have suddenly been scared into the day,
Blear-eyed and vexed as here and there they flap,
Unnatural denizens of such a world.
So seem we all, as this were not our home,
And we, as aliens in these elements,
Move here and there, purblind, heart-weary, and
Possessed with many fears, till Death's new dark
Shows us our passage back to the old cave,
Whence Birth before may have affrighted us.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 22, 2023

24 sec read
338

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHAI
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 430
Words 82
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 10

Robert Crawford

Robert Crawford FRSE FBA is a Scottish poet, scholar and critic. He is currently Professor of English at the University of St Andrews.  more…

All Robert Crawford poems | Robert Crawford Books

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