When First I Came Here
Edward Thomas 1878 (London Borough of Lambeth) – 1917 (Pas-de-Calais)
WHEN first I came here I had hope,
Hope for I knew not what. Fast beat
My heart at the sight of the tall slope
Or grass and yews, as if my feet
Only by scaling its steps of chalk
Would see something no other hill
Ever disclosed. And now I walk
Down it the last time. Never will
My heart beat so again at sight
Of any hill although as fair
And loftier. For infinite
The change, late unperceived, this year,
The twelfth, suddenly, shows me plain.
Hope now,--not health nor cheerfulness,
Since they can come and go again,
As often one brief hour witnesses,--
Just hope has gone forever. Perhaps
I may love other hills yet more
Than this: the future and the maps
Hide something I was waiting for.
One thing I know, that love with chance
And use and time and necessity
Will grow, and louder the heart's dance
At parting than at meeting be.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 101 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB XCXC XXXX XDXD DEDE DFDF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 842 |
Words | 163 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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