House-Surgeon
William Ernest Henley 1849 (Gloucester) – 1903 (Woking)
Exceeding tall, but built so well his height
Half-disappears in flow of chest and limb;
Moustache and whisker trooper-like in trim;
Frank-faced, frank-eyed, frank-hearted; always bright
And always punctual-morning, noon, and night;
Bland as a Jesuit, sober as a hymn;
Humorous, and yet without a touch of whim;
Gentle and amiable, yet full of fight.
His piety, though fresh and true in strain,
Has not yet whitewashed up his common mood
To the dead blank of his particular Schism.
Sweet, unaggressive, tolerant, most humane,
Wild artists like his kindly elderhood,
And cultivate his mild Philistinism.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 07, 2023
- 29 sec read
- 89 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAABBACDECAB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 596 |
Words | 97 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"House-Surgeon" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/40479/house-surgeon>.
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