Tranquilism
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
I call myself a Tranquilist;
With deep detachment I exist,
From friction free;
While others court the gilded throng
And worship Women, Wine and Song,
I scorn the three.
For I have reached the sober age
When I prefer to turn a page
Beside the fire,
And from the busy mart of men
To meditative book and pen
With grace retire.
If you are craving peace of mind,
In Tranquilism you will find
Philosophy;
Serenely fold your hands and wait
Be cloistered calm whatever fate
The Gods decree.
And though the world with rage be rent,
Hold it remote and claim content
With quiet heart;
You can't do much to better it,
But your good-will may help a bit,
Ere you depart.
So let us who are old and sere
To din of battle shut the ear,
And trumpet vain;
And though in no monastic mood
Accept the balm of solitude
And grace regain.
Let us be Tranquilists and try
In placid places to apply
Life's wisdom won;
In Nature's bounty we may bless
The Gods and wait with thankfulness
Our setting sun.
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 56 sec read
- 60 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABCCBDDXEEX AABAABAAAAAA XXFAAFGGHIIH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,379 |
Words | 185 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12, 12 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Tranquilism" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32714/tranquilism>.
Discuss the poem Tranquilism with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In