The Celestial Surgeon

Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 (Edinburgh) – 1894 (Vailima, Samoa)



IF I have faltered more or less
In my great task of happiness;
If I have moved among my race
And shown no glorious morning face;
If beams from happy human eyes
Have moved me not; if morning skies,
Books, and my food, and summer rain
Knocked on my sullen heart in vain:—
Lord, thy most pointed pleasure take
And stab my spirit broad awake;
Or, Lord, if too obdurate I,
Choose thou, before that spirit die,
A piercing pain, a killing sin,
And to my dead heart run them in.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 25, 2023

28 sec read
373

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCCDDEEFFGGHH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 480
Words 94
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. more…

All Robert Louis Stevenson poems | Robert Louis Stevenson Books

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