If Hands Could Free you, Heart

Philip Larkin 1922 (Coventry) – 1985 (Hull)



If hands could free you, heart,
Where would you fly?
Far, beyond every part
Of earth this running sky
Makes desolate? Would you cross
City and hill and sea,
If hands could set you free?

I would not lift the latch;
For I could run
Through fields, pit-valleys, catch
All beauty under the sun--
Still end in loss:
I should find no bent arm, no bed
To rest my head.
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on August 09, 2020

Modified on May 02, 2023

21 sec read
106

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDD EFEFCGG
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 348
Words 70
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 7, 7

Philip Larkin

Philip Larkin was born in 1922 and grew up in Coventry, England. He earned his BA from St John's College, Oxford, and finished with First Class Honours in English. In 1955 he became Librarian of the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull, a post he held until his death in 1985. He was the best-loved poet of his generation, and the recipient of innumerable honours, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. more…

All Philip Larkin poems | Philip Larkin Books

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