A Legacy.
Henry Austin Dobson 1840 (Plymouth) – 1921
Ah, Postumus, we all must go:
This keen North-Easter nips my shoulder;
My strength begins to fail; I know
You find me older;
I've made my Will. Dear, faithful friend--
My Muse's friend and not my purse's!
Who still would hear and still commend
My tedious verses,
How will you live--of these deprived?
I've learned your candid soul. The venal,--
The sordid friend had scarce survived
A test so penal;
But you--Nay, nay, 'tis so. The rest
Are not as you: you hide your merit;
You, more than all, deserve the best
True friends inherit;--
Not gold,--that hearts like yours despise;
Not "spacious dirt" (your own expression),
No; but the rarer, dearer prize--
The Life's Confession!
You catch my thought? What! Can't you guess?
You, you alone, admired my Cantos;--
I've left you, P., my whole MS.,
In three portmanteaus!
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 3 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH DIDI DDDD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 807 |
Words | 149 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"A Legacy." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/55569/a-legacy.>.
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