Old Age

Arthur Symons 1865 (Milford Haven) – 1945



It may be, when this city of the nine gates
Is broken down by ruinous old age,
And no one upon any pilgrimage
Comes knocking, no one for an audience waits,
And no bright foraging troop of bandit moods
Rides out on the brave folly of any guest,
But weariness, the restless shadow of rest,
Hoveringly upon the city broods;
It may be, then, that those remembering
And sleepless watchers on the crumbling towers
Shall lose the count of the disastrous hours
Which God may have grown tired of reckoning.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

27 sec read
62

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCADEEAFGGF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 494
Words 92
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

Arthur Symons

Arthur William Symons, was a British poet, critic and magazine editor. more…

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