The Wife Of All Ages
Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)
I DO not catch these subtle shades of feeling,
Your fine distinctions are too fine for me;
This meeting, scheming, longing, trembling, dreaming,
To me mean love, and only love, you see;
In me at least 'tis love, you will admit,
And you the only man who wakens it.
Suppose I yearned, and longed, and dreamed, and fluttered,
What would you say or think, or further, do?
Why should one rule be fit for me to follow,
While there exists a different law for you?
If all these fires and fancies came my way,
Would you believe love was so far away?
On all these other women--never doubt it--
'Tis love you lavish, love you promised me!
What do I care to be the first, or fiftieth?
It is the only one I care to be.
Dear, I would be your sun, as mine you are,
Not the most radiant wonder of a star.
And so, good-bye! Among such sheaves of roses
You will not miss the flower I take from you;
Amid the music of so many voices
You will forget the little songs I knew--
The foolish tender words I used to say,
The little common sweets of every day.
The world, no doubt, has fairest fruits and blossoms
To give to you; but what, ah! what for me?
Nay, after all I am your slave and bondmaid,
And all my world is in my slavery.
So, as before, I welcome any part
Which you may choose to give me of your heart.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 94 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCC XDXDEE CBXBFF XDXDEE XBCBGG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,299 |
Words | 257 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
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"The Wife Of All Ages" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/9026/the-wife-of-all-ages>.
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