To Olivia
Francis Thompson 1859 (City of Preston, Lancashire) – 1907 (London)
I fear to love thee, Sweet, because
Love's the ambassador of loss;
White flake of childhood, clinging so
To my soiled raiment, thy shy snow
At tenderest touch will shrink and go.
Love me not, delightful child.
My heart, by many snares beguiled,
Has grown timorous and wild.
It would fear thee not at all,
Wert thou not so harmless-small.
Because thy arrows, not yet dire,
Are still unbarbed with destined fire,
I fear thee more than hadst thou stood
Full-panoplied in womanhood.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 15, 2023
- 25 sec read
- 115 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCCCDDDEEFGHH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 486 |
Words | 85 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"To Olivia" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/13952/to-olivia>.
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