Outer And Inner
George Meredith 1828 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) – 1909 (Box Hill, Surrey)
I
From twig to twig the spider weaves
At noon his webbing fine.
So near to mute the zephyrs flute
That only leaflets dance.
The sun draws out of hazel leaves
A smell of woodland wine.
I wake a swarm to sudden storm
At any step's advance.
II
Along my path is bugloss blue,
The star with fruit in moss;
The foxgloves drop from throat to top
A daily lesser bell.
The blackest shadow, nurse of dew,
Has orange skeins across;
And keenly red is one thin thread
That flashing seems to swell.
III
My world I note ere fancy comes,
Minutest hushed observe:
What busy bits of motioned wits
Through antlered mosswork strive.
But now so low the stillness hums,
My springs of seeing swerve,
For half a wink to thrill and think
The woods with nymphs alive.
IV
I neighbour the invisible
So close that my consent
Is only asked for spirits masked
To leap from trees and flowers.
And this because with them I dwell
In thought, while calmly bent
To read the lines dear Earth designs
Shall speak her life on ours.
V
Accept, she says; it is not hard
In woods; but she in towns
Repeats, accept; and have we wept,
And have we quailed with fears,
Or shrunk with horrors, sure reward
We have whom knowledge crowns;
Who see in mould the rose unfold,
The soul through blood and tears.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:11 min read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXCABXC DEXFDEXF GHXIGHXI XJXKFJXK XLXXXLXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,220 |
Words | 238 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
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"Outer And Inner" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/15564/outer-and-inner>.
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