Analysis of Recompense: (For Lord Kilhacken)
Katharine Tynan 1861 (Ireland) – 1931
That which I saved I lost
And that I lost I found,
And you are mine, oh tender little ghost,
Whose grave is holy ground.
That which I kept is flown,
So fast the children grow,
The only child I keep to be my own
I lost long years ago.
The little ones that stayed
Slip from me while I cry:
Oh, not so fast, so fast, you golden-head.
Swift as the wind they fly.
Not two days are the same.
To-morrow will not see
To-day's young children, crested like a flame,
Gathered about my knee.
One day a day will dawn
Will see me dispossessed --
An empty nest whence singing-birds have flown.
Who shall refill the nest?
The years run out like sand
To strip me of my pride;
Then in my hand will steal a clinging hand.
I keep the child who died.
God gives and does not lend
This one lamb of the fold;
And he will need his mother to the end
And never will grow old.
Scheme | XAXA BCBC XDXD EFEF XGBG HIHI JKJK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 111111 011111 0111110101 111101 111111 110101 0101111111 111101 010111 111111 1111111101 110111 111101 110111 1111010101 100111 110111 11101 1101110111 111001 011111 111111 1011110101 110111 110111 111101 0111110101 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 829 |
Words | 174 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 92 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 104 Views
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"Recompense: (For Lord Kilhacken)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25000/recompense%3A-%28for-lord-kilhacken%29>.
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