The Sailor's Sweetheart

Duncan Campbell Scott 1862 (Ottawa) – 1947



O if love were had for asking,
In the markets of the town,
Hardly a lass would think to wear
A fine silken gown:
But love is had by grieving
By choosing and by leaving,
And there's no one now to ask me
If heavy lies my heart.

O if love were had for a deep wish
In the deadness of the night,
There'd be a truce to longing
Between the dusk and the light:
But love is had for sighing,
For living and for dying,
And there's no one now to ask me
If heavy lies my heart.

O if love were had for taking
Like honey from the hive,
The bees that made the tender stuff
Could hardly keep alive:
But love it is a wounded thing,
A tremor and a smart,
And there's no one left to kiss me now
Over my heavy heart.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
90

Quick analysis:

Scheme abxbaaCD xeaeaaCD afxfadxd
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 680
Words 149
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8

Duncan Campbell Scott

Duncan Campbell Scott was a Canadian bureaucrat, Canadian poet and prose writer. more…

All Duncan Campbell Scott poems | Duncan Campbell Scott Books

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