Returned—"Missing" (Five Years After)
Yes, I was sad and anxious,But now, dear, I am gay;I know that it is wisestTo put all hope away:-Thank God that I have done soAnd can be calm to-day.
For hope deferred--you know it,Once made my heart so sick:Now, I expect no longer;It is but the old trickOf hope, that makes me tremble,And makes my heart beat quick.
All day I sit here calmly;Not as I did before,Watching for one whose footstepComes never, never more . . .Hush! was that someone passing,Who paused beside the door?
For years I hung on chances,Longing for just one word;At last I feel it:- silenceWill never more be stirred . . .Tell me once more that rumour,You fancied you had heard.
Life has more things to dwell onThan just one useless pain,Useless and past for ever;But noble things remain,And wait us all: . . . you too, dear,Do you think hope quite vain?
All others have forgotten,'Tis right I should forget,Nor live on a keen longingWhich shadows forth regret: . . .Are not the letters coming?The sun is almost set.
Now that my restless legionOf hopes and fears is fled,Reading is joy and comfort . . .. . . This very day I read,Oh, such a strange returningOf one whom all thought dead!
Not that I dream or fancy,You know all that is past;Earth has no hope to give me,And yet:- Time flies so fastThat all but the impossibleMight be brought back at last.
Words in this poem
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- rumour n.
- A flying or popular report; the common talk; hence, public fame; notoriety. [F. rumeur, L. rumor; cf. rumificare, rumitare to rumor, Skr. ru to cry.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Returned—"Missing" (Five Years After) is in the public domain. This text is taken from Legends and Lyrics. Part 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #2304; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Adelaide Anne Procter, Returned—"Missing" (Five Years After), in Legends and Lyrics: Second Series (1861), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2304, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/procter-legends-lyrics/returned-missing-five-years-after.html, id L21766.
Form and metre
Returned—"Missing" (Five Years After) is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 -A-A-A anxious · gayA · wisest · awayA · so · dayA
- 2 -A-A-A it · sickA · longer · trickA · tremble · quickA
- 3 -A-A-A calmly · beforeA · footstep · moreA · passing · doorA
- 4 -A-A-A chances · wordA · silence · stirredA · rumour · heardA
- 5 -A-A-A on · painA · ever · remainA · dear · vainA
- 6 -A-A-A forgotten · forgetA · longing · regretA · coming · setA
- 7 -A-A-A legion · fledA · comfort · readA · returning · deadA
- 8 -A-A-A fancy · pastA · me · fastA · impossible · lastA
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 iambic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, I was sad and anxious, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| But now, dear, I am gay; | 6 | ······ |
| I know that it is wisest | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| To put all hope away:- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Thank God that I have done so | 7 | ······· |
| And can be calm to-day. | 6 | ······ |
| For hope deferred--you know it, | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| Once made my heart so sick: | 6 | ······ |
| Now, I expect no longer; | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| It is but the old trick | 6 | ······ |
| Of hope, that makes me tremble, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And makes my heart beat quick. | 6 | ······ |
| All day I sit here calmly; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Not as I did before, | 6 | ······ |
| Watching for one whose footstep | 7 | /˘···/· |
| Comes never, never more . . . | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Hush! was that someone passing, | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| Who paused beside the door? | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| For years I hung on chances, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Longing for just one word; | 6 | /˘···· |
| At last I feel it:- silence | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Will never more be stirred . . . | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Tell me once more that rumour, | 7 | ······˘ |
| You fancied you had heard. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Life has more things to dwell on | 7 | ······· |
| Than just one useless pain, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Useless and past for ever; | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| But noble things remain, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And wait us all: . . . you too, dear, | 7 | ······· |
| Do you think hope quite vain? | 6 | ······ |
| All others have forgotten, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| 'Tis right I should forget, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Nor live on a keen longing | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Which shadows forth regret: . . . | 6 | ·/··˘/ |
| Are not the letters coming? | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| The sun is almost set. | 6 | ···/·· |
| Now that my restless legion | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Of hopes and fears is fled, | 6 | ······ |
| Reading is joy and comfort . . . | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| . . . This very day I read, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Oh, such a strange returning | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Of one whom all thought dead! | 6 | ······ |
| Not that I dream or fancy, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| You know all that is past; | 6 | ······ |
| Earth has no hope to give me, | 7 | ······· |
| And yet:- Time flies so fast | 6 | ······ |
| That all but the impossible | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Might be brought back at last. | 6 | ······ |
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.