Vain Venture
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
To have a business of my own
With toil and tears,
I wore my fingers to the bone
For weary years.
With stoic heart, for sordid gold
In patient pain
My life and liberty I sold
For others gain.
I scrimped and scraped, as cent by cent
My savings grew;
I found a faded shop for rent,
Made it like new.
Above the door the paint was dry
Where glowed my name:
I waited there for folks to buy--
But no one came.
Now I am back where I began:
Myself I sell.
I grovel to a greedy man,
And life is hell.
An empty shop of bankrupt shame
I pass before,
Seeing my bitter, bleary name
Above the door.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 36 sec read
- 147 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AXAXBCBC DEDEFGFG HIHIGJGJ |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 672 |
Words | 122 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"Vain Venture" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32729/vain-venture>.
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