A Rhapsody Of Death Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A BCDCEE A FGFGHH A FFGFII J FKEKFF J LMFMFF J NONOJJ J FPFPQQ J RESEFF S FTUTVV S JFJFWW| I | A |
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| That phantoms fair with radiant hair | B |
| May seek at midnight hour | C |
| The sons of men belov'd again | D |
| And give them holy power | C |
| That souls survive the mortal hive and sinless come and go | E |
| Is true as death the prophet saith and God will have it so | E |
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| II | A |
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| For who be ye who doubt and prate | F |
| O sages make it clear | G |
| If ye be more than men of fate | F |
| Or less than men of cheer | G |
| If ye be less than bird or beast O brothers make it plain | H |
| If ye be bankrupts at a feast or sharers in a gain | H |
| - | |
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| III | A |
| - | |
| You say there is no future state | F |
| The clue ye fail to find | F |
| The flesh is here and bones appear | G |
| When graves are undermined | F |
| But of the soul in time of dole what answer can ye frame | I |
| Ye who have heard no spirit word to guide ye to the same | I |
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| IV | J |
| - | |
| Ah facts are good and reason's good | F |
| But fancy's stronger far | K |
| In weal or woe we only know | E |
| We know not what we are | K |
| The sunset seems a raging fire the clouds roll back afraid | F |
| The rainbow seems a broken lyre on which the storm has play'd | F |
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| - | |
| V | J |
| - | |
| But these ye urge are outward signs | L |
| Such signs are not for you | M |
| The sight's deceiv'd and truth bereav'd | F |
| By diamonds of the dew | M |
| The sage's mind is more refined his rapture more complete | F |
| He almost knows the little rose that blossoms at his feet | F |
| - | |
| - | |
| VI | J |
| - | |
| The sage can kill a thousand things | N |
| And tell the names of all | O |
| And wrench away the wearied wings | N |
| Of eagles when they fall | O |
| And calmly trace the lily's grace or fell the strongest tree | J |
| And almost feel if not reveal the secrets of the sea | J |
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| VII | J |
| - | |
| But can he set by day or night | F |
| The clock work of the skies | P |
| Or bring the dead man back to sight | F |
| With soul invested eyes | P |
| Can he describe the ways of life the wondrous ways of death | Q |
| And whence it came and what the flame that feeds the vital breath | Q |
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| VIII | J |
| - | |
| If he could do such deeds as these | R |
| He might though poor and low | E |
| Explain the cause of Nature's laws | S |
| Which none shall ever know | E |
| He might recall the vanish'd years by lifting of his hand | F |
| And bid the wind go north or south to prove what he has plann'd | F |
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| IX | S |
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| But God is just He burdens not | F |
| The shoulders of the sage | T |
| He pities him whose sight is dim | U |
| He turns no second page | T |
| There are two pages to the book We men have read the one | V |
| The other needs a spirit look in lands beyond the sun | V |
| - | |
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| X | S |
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| The other needs a poet's eye | J |
| Like that of Milton blind | F |
| The light of Faith which cannot die | J |
| Though doubts perplex the mind | F |
| The eyesight of a little child a martyr's eye in dole | W |
| Which sees afar the golden star that shines upon the soul | W |
Eric Mackay
(1)
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About A Rhapsody Of Death
A Rhapsody Of Death is a poem by Eric Mackay. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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