Digging 2

Edward Thomas 1878 (London Borough of Lambeth) – 1917 (Pas-de-Calais)



To-day I think
Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield,
And bracken, and wild carrot's seed,
And the square mustard field;

Odours that rise
When the spade wounds the root of tree,
Rose, currant, raspberry, or goutweed,
Rhubarb or celery;

The smoke's smell, too,
Flowing from where a bonfire burns
The dead, the waste, the dangerous,
And all to sweetness turns.

It is enough
To smell, to crumble the dark earth,
While the robin sings over again
Sad songs of Autumn mirth.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 06, 2023

26 sec read
348

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA XBAB XCXC XDXD
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 468
Words 85
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Edward Thomas

Philip Edward Thomas was an Anglo-Welsh poet and essayist. more…

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