Sir Walter Raleigh to His Son
Sir Walter Raleigh 1552 (Hayes Barton, East Budleigh, Devon) – 1618 (London)
Three things there be that prosper up apace
And flourish, whilst they grow asunder far,
But on a day, they meet all in one place,
And when they meet, they one another mar;
And they be these: the wood, the weed, the wag.
The wood is that which makes the gallow tree;
The weed is that which strings the hangman's bag;
The wag, my pretty knave, betokeneth thee.
Mark well, dear boy, whilst these assemble not,
Green springs the tree, hemp grows, the wag is wild,
But when they meet, it makes the timber rot,
It frets the halter, and it chokes the child.
Then bless thee, and beware, and let us pray
We part not with thee at this meeting day.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 19, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 117 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCDCDEFEFGG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 639 |
Words | 126 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"Sir Walter Raleigh to His Son" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/35453/sir-walter-raleigh-to-his-son>.
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