Digging
Edward Thomas 1878 (London Borough of Lambeth) – 1917 (Pas-de-Calais)
What matter makes my spade for tears or mirth,
Letting down two clay pipes into the earth?
The one I smoked, the other a soldier
Of Blenheim, Ramillies, and Malplaquet
Perhaps. The dead man's immortality
Lies represented lightly with my own,
A yard or two nearer the living air
Than bones of ancients who, amazed to see
Almighty God erect the mastodon,
Once laughed, or wept, in this same light of day.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 27, 2023
- 22 sec read
- 508 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABCCDEFGC |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 401 |
Words | 74 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 10 |
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"Digging" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/9838/digging>.
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