What Good



What good are words if you're not here,
To make these words worth speaking,
For then my words are like a breeze,
Which sails across the lonely seas,
With no one there to listen.

What good are dreams if you're not here,
To make these dreams worth dreaming,
For when I awake without you near,
These dreams will bring my eyes to tears,
Then slowly will I shun these visions.

What good is life if you're not here,
To make my life worth living,
For time will pass without a trace,
With only the longing for your embrace,
And slowly will I fade away.

What good is love if you're not here,
To make my love worth giving,
For I'd become a bush of thorns,
Which wounds the flesh, and leaves it torn,
Scarring all who comes my way.

For with you here, a breeze is felt,
To speak my whispered words to you,
And when I awake to see you near,
I'll keep and hold these visions true.

And time is stilled, for within my arms,
There's someone always there to hold,
And amidst these thorns, roses bloom,
To shine so bright with petals gold.

So what good am I if you're not here,
To bring me inspiration,
For with you here, my spirit is whole,
And without you, I hold half a soul,
Which is worse and less than none at all,
Is it not so?
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Written on 1985

Submitted by Warbard on September 24, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:13 min read
9

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCCD ABEXX ABFFG ABXXG XHEH XIXI ADJJXX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,182
Words 238
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 6

Warbard

Poet & Philosopher, Soldier & Scholar, Warrior & Writer, Husband & Historian, Father & Freemason. Since the early '80s, Warbard has been a pen name for Shelby Chandler who is a historian and has made a home for his wife and four daughters in the area of Fredericksburg, Virginia. more…

All Warbard poems | Warbard Books

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"What Good" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/110453/what-good>.

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Which poetic form consists of fourteen lines, typically written in iambic pentameter and follows a specific rhyme scheme?
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