Mors Leonis Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABABCCC DEDEFFF GHGHIII JKJKLLL MNMNOOO PCPCMMM QOQORRR STSTUUU| When o'er the aged lion steals | A |
| The instinct of approaching death | B |
| Whose numbing grasp he vaguely feels | A |
| In trembling limbs and labored breath | B |
| He shuns the garish light of day | C |
| And leaving mate and whelps at play | C |
| In mournful silence creeps away | C |
| - | |
| From bush to bush by devious trails | D |
| He drags himself from hill to hill | E |
| And as his old strength slowly fails | D |
| Drinks long at many a mountain rill | E |
| Until he gains with stifled moan | F |
| A height to hated man unknown | F |
| Where he may die at least alone | F |
| - | |
| Relaxing now his mighty claws | G |
| He lies half shrouded by his mane | H |
| His grand head resting on his paws | G |
| And heeding little save his pain | H |
| As o'er his eyes so sad and deep | I |
| The film of death begins to creep | I |
| The prelude to eternal sleep | I |
| - | |
| As Caesar reeling 'neath the stroke | J |
| And dagger thrust of many a friend | K |
| Drew o'er his face his Roman cloak | J |
| To meet unseen his tragic end | K |
| So hath this desert monarch tried | L |
| With noble dignity to hide | L |
| From others how and where he died | L |
| - | |
| And now his spirit is serene | M |
| For here no stranger can intrude | N |
| To view this last pathetic scene | M |
| Or mar its sombre solitude | N |
| Prone on the lonely mountain crest | O |
| Confronting the resplendent west | O |
| The dying lion sinks to rest | O |
| - | |
| Proud king of beasts thy death should teach | P |
| Mankind the cheapness of display | C |
| More eloquent than human speech | P |
| Thy grand example shows the way | C |
| To pass from life unheard unseen | M |
| And with composed majestic mien | M |
| Death's awful sacredness to screen | M |
| - | |
| Nay more thou didst select a place | Q |
| Where unobserved thy form could rest | O |
| Till Mother Earth with fond embrace | Q |
| Should hide it in her ample breast | O |
| Like Moses in lone Nebo's land | R |
| Thou hast been sepulchred in sand | R |
| Unseen by eye untouched by hand | R |
| - | |
| No pompous tomb shall ever rise | S |
| Above thy lonely sun bleached frame | T |
| No epitaph of well turned lies | S |
| Shall be inscribed beneath thy name | T |
| No bells for thee a dirge shall ring | U |
| No choir beside thy grave shall sing | U |
| Yet hast thou perished like a king | U |
John L. Stoddard
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
About Mors Leonis
Mors Leonis is a poem by John L. Stoddard. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
Write your comment about Mors Leonis poem by John L. Stoddard
Best Poems of John L. Stoddard