The Only Daughter. Illustration Of A Picture Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: AA BCBCDEDEFGFGHIHI JKJKLMLMNONOPQPQ RSRSTUTUVWVWXYXY ZQZQYA2YA2B2YB2YC2FC 2F D2HD2HE2YE2YZF2ZF2G2 H2G2H2

A
A
-
-
-
-
-
-
They bid me strike the idle stringsB
As if my summer daysC
Had shaken sunbeams from their wingsB
To warm my autumn laysC
They bring to me their painted urnD
As if it were not timeE
To lift my gauntlet and to spurnD
The lists of boyish rhymeE
And were it not that I have stillF
Some weakness in my heartG
That clings around my stronger willF
And pleads for gentler artG
Perchance I had not turned awayH
The thoughts grown tame with toilI
To cheat this lone and pallid rayH
That wastes the midnight oilI
-
Alas with every year I feelJ
Some roses leave my browK
Too young for wisdom s tardy sealJ
Too old for garlands nowK
Yet while the dewy breath of springL
Steals o er the tingling airM
And spreads and fans each emerald wingL
The forest soon shall wearM
How bright the opening year would seemN
Had I one look like thineO
To meet me when the morning beamN
Unseals these lids of mineO
Too long I bear this lonely lotP
That bids my heart run wildQ
To press the lips that love me notP
To clasp the stranger s childQ
-
How oft beyond the dashing seasR
Amidst those royal bowersS
Where danced the lilacs in the breezeR
And swung the chestnut flowersS
I wandered like a wearied slaveT
Whose morning task is doneU
To watch the little hands that gaveT
Their whiteness to the sunU
To revel in the bright young eyesV
Whose lustre sparkled throughW
The sable fringe of Southern skiesV
Or gleamed in Saxon blueW
How oft I heard another s nameX
Called in some truant s toneY
Sweet accents which I longed to claimX
To learn and lisp my ownY
-
Too soon the gentle hands that pressedZ
The ringlets of the childQ
Are folded on the faithful breastZ
Where first he breathed and smiledQ
Too oft the clinging arms untwineY
The melting lips forgetA2
And darkness veils the bridal shrineY
Where wreaths and torches metA2
If Heaven but leaves a single threadB2
Of Hope s dissolving chainY
Even when her parting plumes are spreadB2
It bids them fold againY
The cradle rocks beside the tombC2
The cheek now changed and chillF
Smiles on us in the morning bloomC2
Of one that loves us stillF
-
Sweet image I have done thee wrongD2
To claim this destined layH
The leaf that asked an idle songD2
Must bear my tears awayH
Yet in thy memory shouldst thou keepE2
This else forgotten strainY
Till years have taught thine eyes to weepE2
And flattery s voice is vainY
Oh then thou fledgling of the nestZ
Like the long wandering doveF2
Thy weary heart may faint for restZ
As mine on changeless loveF2
And while these sculptured lines retraceG2
The hours now dancing byH2
This vision of thy girlish graceG2
May cost thee too a sighH2

Oliver Wendell Holmes



Rate:
(1)



Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme

Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation


Write your comment about The Only Daughter. Illustration Of A Picture poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes


 

Recent Interactions*

This poem was read 0 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