Mistletoe

Walter de la Mare 1873 (Charlton, London) – 1956 (Twickenham)



Sitting under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
One last candle burning low,
All the sleepy dancers gone,
Just one candle burning on,
Shadows lurking everywhere:
Some one came, and kissed me there.

Tired I was; my head would go
Nodding under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
No footsteps came, no voice, but only,
Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,
Stooped in the still and shadowy air
Lips unseen - and kissed me there.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 16, 2023

22 sec read
267

Quick analysis:

Scheme aAaxxbb aaAccbb
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 440
Words 76
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 7, 7

Walter de la Mare

Walter John de la Mare was an English poet short story writer and novelist best remembered for his works for children and The Listeners He was born in Kent and was educated at St Pauls Cathedral School His first book Songs of Childhood was published under the name Walter Ramal His 1921 novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction more…

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