Sonnet XVI: Who Shall Invoke Her
Alan Seeger 1888 (New York City) – 1916
Who shall invoke her, who shall be her priest,
With single rites the common debt to pay?
On some green headland fronting to the East
Our fairest boy shall kneel at break of day.
Naked, uplifting in a laden tray
New milk and honey and sweet-tinctured wine,
Not without twigs of clustering apple-spray
To wreath a garland for Our Lady's shrine.
The morning planet poised above the sea
Shall drop sweet influence through her drowsing lid;
Dew-drenched, his delicate virginity
Shall scarce disturb the flowers he kneels amid,
That, waked so lightly, shall lift up their eyes,
Cushion his knees, and nod between his thighs.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 42 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABBCBCDEDEFF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 613 |
Words | 107 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"Sonnet XVI: Who Shall Invoke Her" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/340/sonnet-xvi:-who-shall-invoke-her>.
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