A Resurrection
I was quick in the flesh, was warm, and the live heart shook mybreast:In the market I bought and sold, in the temple I bowed my head,I had swathed me in shows and forms, and was honoured above the restFor the sake of the life I lived; nor did any esteem me dead.
But at last, when the hour was ripe--was it sudden-remembered word?Was it sight of a bird that mounted, or sound of a strain thatstole?I was ware of a spell that snapped, of an inward strength thatstirred,Of a Presence that filled that place; and it shone, and I knew mySoul.
And the dream I had called my life was a garment about my feet,For the web of the years was rent with the throe of a yearningstrong.With a sweep as of winds in heaven, with a rush as of flames thatmeet,The Flesh and the Spirit clasped; and I cried, “Was I dead solong?”
I had glimpse of the Secret, flashed through the symbol obscure andmean,And I felt as a fire what erst I repeated with lips of clay;And I knew for the things eternal the things eye hath not seen;Yea, the heavens and the earth shall pass; but they never shallpass away.
And the miracle on me wrought, in the streets I would straight makeknown:“When this marvel of mine is heard, without cavil shall menreceiveAny legend of haloed saint, starting up through the sealèd stone!”So I spake in the trodden ways; but behold, there would nonebelieve!
Words in this poem
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- throe n.
- Extreme pain; violent pang; anguish; agony; especially, one of the pangs of travail in childbirth, or purturition. [OE. , , AS. a threatening, oppression, suffering, perhaps influenced by Icel. a throe, a pang, a longing; cf. AS. to suffer.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- haloed a.
- Surrounded with a halo; invested with an ideal glory; glorified.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Resurrection is in the public domain. This text is taken from A chant of love for England, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #71425; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Helen Gray Cone, A Resurrection, in A Chant of Love for England, and Other Poems (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #71425, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cone-chant-for-england/a-resurrection.html, id L22056.
Form and metre
A Resurrection is 32 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%).
See other poems in anapaestic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -ABAB my · breastA · headB · restA · deadB
- 2 ABCBA-C wordA · thatB · stoleC · thatB · stirredA · my · soulC
- 3 ABB-A-B feetA · yearningB · strongB · that · meetA · so · longB
- 4 -ABA-B and · meanA · clayB · seenA · shall · awayB
- 5 -A-BA-B make · knownA · men · receiveB · stoneA · none · believeB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against anapaestic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I was quick in the flesh, was warm, and the live heart shook my | 14 | ·············· |
| breast: | 1 | · |
| In the market I bought and sold, in the temple I bowed my head, | 16 | ··/˘······/˘···· |
| I had swathed me in shows and forms, and was honoured above the rest | 16 | ··········/˘···· |
| For the sake of the life I lived; nor did any esteem me dead. | 16 | ··········/˘˘/·· |
| But at last, when the hour was ripe--was it sudden-remembered word? | 16 | ·····/····/˘˘/˘· |
| Was it sight of a bird that mounted, or sound of a strain that | 15 | ·······/˘······ |
| stole? | 1 | · |
| I was ware of a spell that snapped, of an inward strength that | 14 | ··········/˘·· |
| stirred, | 1 | · |
| Of a Presence that filled that place; and it shone, and I knew my | 15 | ··/˘··········· |
| Soul. | 1 | · |
| And the dream I had called my life was a garment about my feet, | 16 | ··········/˘···· |
| For the web of the years was rent with the throe of a yearning | 15 | ·············/˘ |
| strong. | 1 | · |
| With a sweep as of winds in heaven, with a rush as of flames that | 15 | ·······/······· |
| meet, | 1 | · |
| The Flesh and the Spirit clasped; and I cried, “Was I dead so | 13 | ····/········ |
| long?” | 1 | · |
| I had glimpse of the Secret, flashed through the symbol obscure and | 15 | ·····/˘···/˘˘/· |
| mean, | 1 | · |
| And I felt as a fire what erst I repeated with lips of clay; | 16 | ·····/···˘/˘···· |
| And I knew for the things eternal the things eye hath not seen; | 15 | ······˘/˘······ |
| Yea, the heavens and the earth shall pass; but they never shall | 13 | ··/˘·······/· |
| pass away. | 3 | ·˘/ |
| And the miracle on me wrought, in the streets I would straight make | 14 | ··/˘·········· |
| known: | 1 | · |
| “When this marvel of mine is heard, without cavil shall men | 14 | ··/˘······/˘·· |
| receive | 2 | ˘/ |
| Any legend of haloed saint, starting up through the sealèd stone!” | 15 | /˘/˘·/˘·/˘····· |
| So I spake in the trodden ways; but behold, there would none | 14 | ·····/˘··˘/··· |
| believe! | 2 | ˘/ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.