Within The Gate Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABBCC DDEE FFGH IIJJ KKLL MMNN OOPP QQRR SSTT UVWW XYZZ AAA2B2 C2C2II D2D2E2E2 F2F2G2G2 H2H2AA I2FJ2J2 K2K2F2F2| L M C | A |
| We sat together last May day and talked | B |
| Of the dear friends who walked | B |
| Beside us sharers of the hopes and fears | C |
| Of five and forty years | C |
| - | |
| Since first we met in Freedom's hope forlorn | D |
| And heard her battle horn | D |
| Sound through the valleys of the sleeping North | E |
| Calling her children forth | E |
| - | |
| And youth pressed forward with hope lighted eyes | F |
| And age with forecast wise | F |
| Of the long strife before the triumph won | G |
| Girded his armor on | H |
| - | |
| Sadly ass name by name we called the roll | I |
| We heard the dead bells toll | I |
| For the unanswering many and we knew | J |
| The living were the few | J |
| - | |
| And we who waited our own call before | K |
| The inevitable door | K |
| Listened and looked as all have done to win | L |
| Some token from within | L |
| - | |
| No sign we saw we heard no voices call | M |
| The impenetrable wall | M |
| Cast down its shadow like an awful doubt | N |
| On all who sat without | N |
| - | |
| Of many a hint of life beyond the veil | O |
| And many a ghostly tale | O |
| Wherewith the ages spanned the gulf between | P |
| The seen and the unseen | P |
| - | |
| Seeking from omen trance and dream to gain | Q |
| Solace to doubtful pain | Q |
| And touch with groping hands the garment hem | R |
| Of truth sufficing them | R |
| - | |
| We talked and turning from the sore unrest | S |
| Of an all baffling quest | S |
| We thought of holy lives that from us passed | T |
| Hopeful unto the last | T |
| - | |
| As if they saw beyond the river of death | U |
| Like Him of Nazareth | V |
| The many mansions of the Eternal days | W |
| Lift up their gates of praise | W |
| - | |
| And hushed to silence by a reverent awe | X |
| Methought O friend I saw | Y |
| In thy true life of word and work and thought | Z |
| The proof of all we sought | Z |
| - | |
| Did we not witness in the life of thee | A |
| Immortal prophecy | A |
| And feel when with thee that thy footsteps trod | A2 |
| An everlasting road | B2 |
| - | |
| Not for brief days thy generous sympathies | C2 |
| Thy scorn of selfish ease | C2 |
| Not for the poor prize of an earthly goal | I |
| Thy strong uplift of soul | I |
| - | |
| Than thine was never turned a fonder heart | D2 |
| To nature and to art | D2 |
| In fair formed Hellas in her golden prime | E2 |
| Thy Philothea's time | E2 |
| - | |
| Yet loving beauty thou couldst pass it by | F2 |
| And for the poor deny | F2 |
| Thyself and see thy fresh sweet flower of fame | G2 |
| Wither in blight and blame | G2 |
| - | |
| Sharing His love who holds in His embrace | H2 |
| The lowliest of our race | H2 |
| Sure the Divine economy must be | A |
| Conservative of thee | A |
| - | |
| For truth must live with truth self sacrifice | I2 |
| Seek out its great allies | F |
| Good must find good by gravitation sure | J2 |
| And love with love endure | J2 |
| - | |
| And so since thou hast passed within the gate | K2 |
| Whereby awhile I wait | K2 |
| I give blind grief and blinder sense the lie | F2 |
| Thou hast not lived to die | F2 |
John Greenleaf Whittier
(1)
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About Within The Gate
Within The Gate is a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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