Good And Evil Xxii Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A B A C D E A F G E E H I J K L M N O B L P P Q R P S O F| And one of the elders of the city said Speak to us of Good and Evil | A |
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| And he answered | B |
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| Of the good in you I can speak but not of the evil | A |
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| For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst | C |
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| Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves and when it thirsts it drinks even of dead waters | D |
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| You are good when you are one with yourself | E |
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| Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil | A |
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| For a divided house is not a den of thieves it is only a divided house | F |
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| And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to the bottom | G |
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| You are good when you strive to give of yourself | E |
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| Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself | E |
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| For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast | H |
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| Surely the fruit cannot say to the root Be like me ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance | I |
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| For to the fruit giving is a need as receiving is a need to the root | J |
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| You are good when you are fully awake in your speech | K |
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| Yet you are not evil when you sleep while your tongue staggers without purpose | L |
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| And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue | M |
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| You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps | N |
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| Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping | O |
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| Even those who limp go not backward | B |
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| But you who are strong and swift see that you do not limp before the lame deeming it kindness | L |
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| You are good in countless ways and you are not evil when you are not good | P |
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| You are only loitering and sluggard | P |
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| Pity that the stags cannot teach swiftness to the turtles | Q |
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| In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness and that longing is in all of you | R |
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| But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea carrying the secrets of the hillsides and the songs of the forest | P |
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| And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and bends and lingers before it reaches the shore | S |
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| But let not him who longs much say to him who longs little Wherefore are you slow and halting | O |
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| For the truly good ask not the naked Where is your garment nor the houseless What has befallen your house | F |
Khalil Gibran
(1)
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