In A Columbarium Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABABCC DEDEFF GHGHIJ BKBKLL FMFMNN OCOCPP LKLKKK KQKQRR SKSKKK PTPUKK IEIEVV KPKPVV WPWPKK| The autumn sun still bravely streams | A |
| Along the tomb girt Appian Way | B |
| And warms the heart of one who dreams | A |
| Of all its splendor on the day | B |
| When Scipio triumphed bringing home | C |
| The spoils of Africa to Rome | C |
| - | |
| On this same road the conqueror came | D |
| Called Africanus the Divine | E |
| By thousands who adored his fame | D |
| And proudly watched the endless line | E |
| Of Punic captives in his train | F |
| And trophies won on Zama's plain | F |
| - | |
| To day the vast Campagna rolls | G |
| In stately grandeur to the sea | H |
| But where are now the countless souls | G |
| Whose dwelling place this used to be | H |
| When all its space to Ostia's gate | I |
| Lay peopled and inviolate | J |
| - | |
| Ask of the Claudian arches gray | B |
| Which stride toward Rome in broken lines | K |
| Ask of the lizards at their play | B |
| On relics of the Antonines | K |
| Ask of the fever blighted shore | L |
| Where Roman galleys ride no more | L |
| - | |
| Yet some poor traces still remain | F |
| Of those who here have lived and died | M |
| For underneath this solemn plain | F |
| The Christian catacombs still hide | M |
| A city of sepulchral gloom | N |
| The martyrs' labyrinthine tomb | N |
| - | |
| Moreover in this classic soil | O |
| Where sleeps so much of ancient Rome | C |
| A simple peasant at his toil | O |
| Discovered 'neath the upturned loam | C |
| The spot to which I now have come | P |
| A Roman Columbarium | P |
| - | |
| Down through its modern open door | L |
| A flood of mellow sunshine falls | K |
| In golden waves from roof to floor | L |
| Revealing in its moss grown walls | K |
| The dove cotes where one still discerns | K |
| The fragments of old funeral urns | K |
| - | |
| One vacant niche whose ampler space | K |
| Betokens special love and care | Q |
| Contained no doubt a sculptured face | K |
| Above the hallowed ashes there | Q |
| While just beneath faint letters spell | R |
| A faithful woman's fond farewell | R |
| - | |
| How often on love's winged feet | S |
| She doubtless sought this dear recess | K |
| To deck with floral offerings sweet | S |
| Her sepulchre of happiness | K |
| Whose script despite two thousand years | K |
| Preserves the memory of her tears | K |
| - | |
| Rome's annals hint not of the name | P |
| Of him whose dust lay treasured here | T |
| But could the fleeting breath of fame | P |
| Have made him to her heart more dear | U |
| A word of tenderness outweighs | K |
| In woman's soul a world of praise | K |
| - | |
| What though remote from pomp and state | I |
| At Caesar's court he could not shine | E |
| Less blest had surely been his fate | I |
| Upon the lustful Palatine | E |
| And mutual love wherever viewed | V |
| Is life's supreme beatitude | V |
| - | |
| Alas the urn no longer stands | K |
| Within the little alcove dim | P |
| Gone also are the faithful hands | K |
| That hung sweet roses on its rim | P |
| And vanished even is the bust | V |
| Which watched above the sacred dust | V |
| - | |
| Yet still its words of love survive | W |
| The shocks and tragedies of time | P |
| And bid our drooping hearts revive | W |
| Inculcating the faith sublime | P |
| That while the urn in ruin lies | K |
| Love soars immortal to the skies | K |
John L. Stoddard
(1)
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About In A Columbarium
In A Columbarium is a poem by John L. Stoddard. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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