The Snowflake Which Is Now and Hence Forever
Archibald MacLeish 1892 (Glencoe) – 1982 (Boston)
Will it last? he says.
Is it a masterpiece?
Will generation after generation
Turn with reverence to the page?
Birdseye scholar of the frozen fish,
What would he make of the sole, clean, clear
Leap of the salmon that has disappeared?
To be, yes!--whether they like it or not!
But not to last when leap and water are forgotten,
A plank of standard pinkness in the dish.
They also live
Who swerve and vanish in the river.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 24 sec read
- 339 Views
Quick analysis:
| Scheme | XXAX BXX XAB XX |
|---|---|
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 415 |
| Words | 80 |
| Stanzas | 4 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 3, 3, 2 |
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"The Snowflake Which Is Now and Hence Forever" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/3769/the-snowflake-which-is-now-and-hence-forever>.
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