Tenebrae Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: A BCDEFFFF FGHFFHIFJFJFJF KLMF NFFOPF QRSKTUSTVWXWYW ZFA2ZB2F YC2D2E2FFFF F2G2FF

He was so tired that he was scarcely able to hear a note of the songs he felt imprisoned in a cold region where his brain was numb and his spirit was isolatedA
-
-
-
Requite this angel whoseB
flushed and thirsting faceC
stoops to the sacrificeD
out of which it aroseE
This is the lord ErosF
of grief who pitiesF
no one it isF
Lazarus with his soresF
-
-
-
-
And you who with your soft but searching voiceF
drew me out of the sleep where I was lostG
who held me near your heart that I might restH
confiding in the darkness of your choiceF
possessed by you I chose to have no choiceF
fulfilled in you I sought no further questH
You keep me now in dread that quenches trustI
in desolation where my sins rejoiceF
As I am passionate so you with painJ
turn my desire as you seem passionlessF
so I recoil from all that I would gainJ
wounding myself upon forgetfulnessF
false ecstasies which you in truth sustainJ
as you sustain each item of your crossF
-
-
-
-
Veni Redemptor but not in our timeK
Christus Resurgens quite out of this worldL
Ave we cry the echoes are returnedM
Amor Carnalis is our dwelling placeF
-
-
-
-
O light of light supreme delightN
grace on our lips to our disgraceF
Time roosts on all such golden wristsF
our leanness is our luxuryO
Our love is what we love to haveP
our faith is in our festivalsF
-
-
-
-
Stupefying images of grief in dreamQ
succubae to my natural grief of heartR
cling to me then you who will not desertS
your love nor lose him in some blank of timeK
You come with all the licence of her nameT
to tell me you are mine But you are notU
and she is not Can my own breath be hurtS
by breathless shadows groaning in their gameT
It can The best societies of hellV
acknowledge this aroused by what they knowW
consummate rage recaptured there in fullX
as faithfulness demands it blow for blowW
and rectitude that mimics its own fallY
reeling with sensual abstinence and woeW
-
-
-
-
This is the ash pit of the lily fireZ
this is the questioning at the long tablesF
this is true marriage of the self in selfA2
this is a raging solitude of desireZ
this is the chorus of obscene consentB2
this is a single voice of purest praiseF
-
-
-
-
He wounds with ecstasy AllY
the wounds are his ownC2
He wears the martyr s crownD2
He is the Lord of MisruleE2
He is the Master of the Leaping FiguresF
the motley factionsF
Revelling in auguriesF
he is the Weeper of the ValedictionsF
-
-
-
-
Music survives composing her own sphereF2
Angel of Tones Medusa Queen of the AirG2
and when we would accost her with real criesF
silver on silver thrills itself to iceF

Geoffrey Hill



Rate:
(1)



Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme

Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation


Write your comment about Tenebrae poem by Geoffrey Hill


 

Recent Interactions*

This poem was read 18 times,

This poem was added to the favorite list by 0 members,

This poem was voted by 0 members.

(* Interactions only in the last 7 days)

New Poems

Popular Poets