The Visionary
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
If fortune had not granted me
To suck the Muse's teats,
I think I would have liked to be
A sweeper of the streets;
And city gutters glad to groom,
Have heft a bonny broom.
There--as amid the crass and crush
The limousines swished by,
I would have leaned upon my brush
With visionary eye:
Deeming despite their loud allure
That I was rich, they poor.
Aye, though in garb terrestrial,
To Heaven I would pray,
And dream with broom celestial
I swept the Milky Way;
And golden chariots would ring,
And harps of Heaven sing.
And all the strumpets passing me,
And heelers of the Ward
Would glorified Madonnas be,
And angels of the Lord;
And all the brats in gutters grim
Be rosy cherubim.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 107 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCC DEDEXX FGFGHH AIAIXA |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 744 |
Words | 128 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
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"The Visionary" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32678/the-visionary>.
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