The Portent
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
Horace, BK. V. Ode 20.
Oh, late withdrawn from human-kind
And following dreams we never knew!
Varus, what dream has Fate assigned
To trouble you?
Such virtue as commends of law
Of Virtue to the vulgar horde
Suffices not. You needs must draw
A righteous sword;
And, flagrant in well-doing, smite
The priests of Bacchus at their fane,
Lest any worshipper invite
The God again.
Whence public strife and naked crime
And-deadlier than the cup you shun--
A people schooled to mock, in time,
All law--not one.
Cease, then, to fashion State-made sin,
Nor give thy children cause to doubt
That Virtue springs from Iron within--
Not lead without.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 03, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 144 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | A BCBC DEDE AXXX FGFG HIHI |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 624 |
Words | 111 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"The Portent" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/33524/the-portent>.
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