My Masters
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Of Poetry I've been accused,
But much more often I have not;
Oh, I have been so much amused
By those who've put me on the spot,
And measured me by rules above
Those I observe with equal love.
An artisan of verse am I,
Of simple sense and humble tone;
My Thesaurus is handy by,
A rhyming lexicon I own;
Without them I am ill at ease -
What bards would use such aids as these?
Bad poets make good verse, they say;
The Great have not distained to woo
The modest muse of every day;
Read Longfellow and Byron through,
The fabric test - much verse you'll see
Compared with what is poetry.
Small blame; one cannot always soar
To heights of hyaline sublime;
Melodious prose one must deplore,
And fetters of rebellious rhyme:
Keats, Browning - that's another tale,
But even Giants fail and fail.
I've worshipped Ryley, Harte and Field,
And though their minstrelsy I lack,
To them heart-homage here I yield,
And follow with my verseman's pack:
To them with gratitude I look,
For briefing me to make this book.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 12, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 114 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCC DEDEFF GHGHII JKJKLL MNMNOO |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 978 |
Words | 187 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
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"My Masters" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32300/my-masters>.
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