For These

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



An acre of land between the shore and the hills,
Upon a ledge that shows my kingdoms three,
The lovely visible earth and sky and sea
Where what the curlew needs not, the farmer tills:

A house that shall love me as I love it,
Well-hedged, and honoured by a few ash trees
That linnets, greenfinches, and goldfinches
Shall often visit and make love in and flit:

A garden I need never go beyond,
Broken but neat, whose sunflowers every one
Are fit to be the sign of the Rising Sun:
A spring, a brook's bend, or at least a pond:

For these I ask not, but, neither too late
Nor yet too early, for what men call content,
And also that something may be sent
To be contented with, I ask of Fate.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

41 sec read
134

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBA CXXC DEED FGGF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 678
Words 136
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Edward Thomas

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

All Edward Thomas poems | Edward Thomas Books

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