Conversion
I have lived this life as the skeptic lives it;I have said the sweetness was less than the gall;Praising, nor cursing, the Hand that gives it,I have drifted aimlessly through it all.I have scoffed at the tale of a so-called heaven;I have laughed at the thought of a Supreme Friend;I have said that it only to man was givenTo live, to endure; and to die was the end.
But I know that a good God reigneth,Generous-hearted and kind and true;Since unto a worm like me he deignethTo send so royal a gift as you.Bright as a star you gleam on my bosom,Sweet as a rose that the wild bee sips;And I know, my own, my beautiful blossom,That none but a God could mould such lips.
And I believe, in the fullest measureThat ever a strong man's heart could hold,In all the tales of heavenly pleasureBy poets sung or by prophets told;For in the joy of your shy, sweet kisses,Your pulsing touch and your languid sighI am filled and thrilled with better blissesThan ever were claimed for souls on high.
And now I have faith in all the storiesTold of the beauties of unseen lands;Of royal splendors and marvellous gloriesOf the golden city not made with handsFor the silken beauty of falling tresses,Of lips all dewy and cheeks aglow,With--what the mind in a half trance guessesOf the twin perfection of drifts of snow;
Of limbs like marble, of thigh and shoulderCarved like a statue in high relief--These, as the eyes and the thoughts grow bolder,Leave no room for an unbelief.So my lady, my queen most royal,My skepticism has passed away;If you are true to me, true and loyal,I will believe till the Judgment-day.
Words in this poem
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- aglow adv.
- In a glow; glowing; as, cheeks aglow; the landscape all aglow. [Pref. a- + glow.]
- unbelief n.
- The withholding of belief; doubt; incredulity; skepticism. [Pref. un- not + belief: cf. AS. ungeleáfa.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Conversion is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Passion, Project Gutenberg ebook #16776; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Conversion, in Poems of Passion (1883), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16776, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wilcox-passion/conversion.html, id L22170.
Form and metre
Conversion is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%).
See other poems in iambic 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-C-C itA · gallB · itA · allB · heaven · friendC · given · endC
- 2 ABAB-C-C reignethA · trueB · deignethA · youB · bosom · sipsC · blossom · lipsC
- 3 ABABCDCD measureA · holdB · pleasureA · toldB · kissesC · sighD · blissesC · highD
- 4 ABABCDCD storiesA · landsB · gloriesA · handsB · tressesC · aglowD · guessesC · snowD
- 5 ABABCDCD shoulderA · reliefB · bolderA · unbeliefB · royalC · awayD · loyalC · dayD
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I have lived this life as the skeptic lives it; | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| I have said the sweetness was less than the gall; | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Praising, nor cursing, the Hand that gives it, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| I have drifted aimlessly through it all. | 10 | ··/˘/˘˘··· |
| I have scoffed at the tale of a so-called heaven; | 11 | ··········/ |
| I have laughed at the thought of a Supreme Friend; | 11 | ········˘/· |
| I have said that it only to man was given | 11 | ·····/˘···/ |
| To live, to endure; and to die was the end. | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| But I know that a good God reigneth, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Generous-hearted and kind and true; | 9 | /˘˘/˘···· |
| Since unto a worm like me he deigneth | 10 | ········/˘ |
| To send so royal a gift as you. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Bright as a star you gleam on my bosom, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Sweet as a rose that the wild bee sips; | 9 | ········· |
| And I know, my own, my beautiful blossom, | 11 | ······/˘˘/˘ |
| That none but a God could mould such lips. | 9 | ········· |
| And I believe, in the fullest measure | 10 | ··˘/··/˘/˘ |
| That ever a strong man's heart could hold, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| In all the tales of heavenly pleasure | 10 | ·····/˘˘/˘ |
| By poets sung or by prophets told; | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| For in the joy of your shy, sweet kisses, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Your pulsing touch and your languid sigh | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| I am filled and thrilled with better blisses | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| Than ever were claimed for souls on high. | 10 | ·/˘··˘···· |
| And now I have faith in all the stories | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Told of the beauties of unseen lands; | 9 | ···/˘·˘/· |
| Of royal splendors and marvellous glories | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| Of the golden city not made with hands | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| For the silken beauty of falling tresses, | 11 | ··/˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Of lips all dewy and cheeks aglow, | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| With--what the mind in a half trance guesses | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Of the twin perfection of drifts of snow; | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| Of limbs like marble, of thigh and shoulder | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| Carved like a statue in high relief-- | 10 | ·˘··/···˘/ |
| These, as the eyes and the thoughts grow bolder, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Leave no room for an unbelief. | 8 | ········ |
| So my lady, my queen most royal, | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| My skepticism has passed away; | 10 | ·/˘·˘··˘˘/ |
| If you are true to me, true and loyal, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| I will believe till the Judgment-day. | 9 | ··˘/··/˘· |
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