After Prayers, Lie Cold
Clive Staples Lewis 1898 (Clive Staples Lewis Belfast) – 1963 (Oxford)
Arise my body, my small body, we have striven
Enough, and He is merciful; we are forgiven.
Arise small body, puppet-like and pale, and go,
White as the bed-clothes into bed, and cold as snow,
Undress with small, cold fingers and put out the light,
And be alone, hush'd mortal, in the sacred night,
-A meadow whipt flat with the rain, a cup
Emptied and clean, a garment washed and folded up,
Faded in colour, thinned almost to raggedness
By dirt and by the washing of that dirtiness.
Be not too quickly warm again. Lie cold; consent
To weariness' and pardon's watery element.
Drink up the bitter water, breathe the chilly death;
Soon enough comes the riot of our blood and breath.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 103 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFGHH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 687 |
Words | 124 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"After Prayers, Lie Cold" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/6925/after-prayers,-lie-cold>.
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