The Fable About A Nail Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDE FGHIJ KLAMN BAOPM QRST| For lack of a nail the kingdom has fallen | A |
| according to the wisdom of nursery schools but in our kingdom | B |
| there have been no nails for a long time there aren t and won t be | C |
| either the small ones for hanging a picture | D |
| on a wall or large ones for closing a coffin | E |
| - | |
| but despite this or maybe because of it | F |
| the kingdom persists and is even admired by others | G |
| how can one live without a nail paper or string | H |
| bricks oxygen freedom and whatever else | I |
| obviously one can since the kingdom lasts and lasts | J |
| - | |
| people live in homes in our country not in caves | K |
| factories smoke on the steppe a train runs through the tundra | L |
| and a ship bleats on the cold ocean | A |
| there is an army and police an official seal hymn and flag | M |
| in appearance everything like anywhere in the world | N |
| - | |
| but only in appearance for our kingdom | B |
| is not a creation of nature or a human creation | A |
| seemingly permanent built on the bones of mammoths | O |
| in reality it is weak as if brought to a stop | P |
| between act and thought being and nonbeing | M |
| - | |
| what is real a leaf and a stone falls | Q |
| but spectres live long obstinately despite | R |
| the rising and setting of the sun revolutions of heavenly bodies | S |
| on the shamed earth fall the tears of objects | T |
Zbigniew Herbert
(1)
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