Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ONE PERSON: 16, by ELINOR WYLIE Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: I hereby swear that to uphold your house Last Line: I bear a little more than I can bear. Alternate Author Name(s): Benet, William Rose, Mrs. Subject(s): Love; Worship | ||||||||
I hereby swear that to uphold your house I would lay my bones in quick destroying lime Or turn my flesh to timber for all time; Cut down my womanhood; lop off the boughs Of that perpetual ecstasy that grows From the heart's core; condemn it as a crime If it be broader than a beam, or climb Above the stature that your roof allows. I am not the hearthstone nor the cornerstone Within this noble fabric you have builded; Not by my beauty was its cornice gilded; Not on my courage were its arches thrown: My lord, adjudge my strength, and set me where I bear a little more than I can bear. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...COMPANIONSHIP by MALTBIE DAVENPORT BABCOCK FOR I WILL CONSIDER YOUR DOG MOLLY by DAVID LEHMAN RUSSIAN CATHEDRAL by CLAUDE MCKAY LITTLE WHITE CHURCH by MARILYN NELSON A STEEPLE ON THE HOUSE by ROBERT FROST MATE (1) by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON ANSWER TO PRAYER by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS by GEORGE SANTAYANA BRONZE TRUMPETS AND SEA WATER; ON TURNING LATIN VERSE INTO ENGLISH by ELINOR WYLIE |
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