Sonnet: Oh! Death will find me, long before I tire

Rupert Brooke 1887 (Rugby) – 1915 (Aegean Sea)




Oh! Death will find me, long before I tire
 Of watching you; and swing me suddenly
Into the shade and loneliness and mire
 Of the last land!  There, waiting patiently,

One day, I think, I'll feel a cool wind blowing,
 See a slow light across the Stygian tide,
And hear the Dead about me stir, unknowing,
 And tremble.  And I shall know that you have died,

And watch you, a broad-browed and smiling dream,
 Pass, light as ever, through the lightless host,
Quietly ponder, start, and sway, and gleam --
 Most individual and bewildering ghost! --

And turn, and toss your brown delightful head
Amusedly, among the ancient Dead.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
107

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA BCBC DEDE FF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 618
Words 111
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 2

Rupert Brooke

Rupert Chawner Brooke was an English poet known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially "The Soldier". more…

All Rupert Brooke poems | Rupert Brooke Books

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    "Sonnet: Oh! Death will find me, long before I tire" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/33726/sonnet:--oh!-death-will-find-me,-long-before-i-tire>.

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