Antagonists

Arthur Henry Adams 1872 (Lawrence) – 1936 (Sydney, New South Wales)



WHAT though the neutral sea sever us twain?
 In the still night your soul in mine I take;
 Your eyes, hilarious with passion, wake,
 And love's delirium is mine again,
 When all your body's warmth swirled in my brain—
 Your face uplifted like a pallid lake
 Where in my eager lips their thirst could slake,
 With deep-sighed, langourous kisses, keener than pain.  
  Then suddenly through passion's rosy mists
 A shudder trickled, like a stream of blood:
 In a grim pause we felt and understood.
 The everlasting war that was our fate—
 The pitiless struggle and primeval hate
 Of old implacable antagonists.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
58

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBCABBADEFGGH
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 619
Words 103
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Arthur Henry Adams

Arthur Henry Adams was a journalist and author. He started his career in New Zealand, though he spent most of it in Australia, and for a short time lived in China and London.  more…

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