My Friend
When first I looked upon the face of PainI shrank repelled, as one shrinks from a foeWho stands with dagger poised, as for a blow.I was in search of Pleasure and of Gain;I turned aside to let him pass: in vain;He looked straight in my eyes and would not go."Shake hands," he said; "our paths are one, and soWe must be comrades on the way, 'tis plain."
I felt the firm clasp of his hand on mine;Through all my veins it sent a strengthening glow.I straightway linked my arm in his, and lo!He led me forth to joys almost divine;With God's great truths enriched me in the end:And now I hold him as my dearest friend.
Words in this poem
- straightway adv.
- Immediately; without loss of time; without delay.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
My Friend 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, My Friend, in Poems of Passion (1883), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16776, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wilcox-passion/my-friend.html, id L22192.
Form and metre
My Friend is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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 ABBAABBA painA · foeB · blowB · gainA · vainA · goB · soB · plainA
- 2 ABBACC mineA · glowB · loB · divineA · endC · friendC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When first I looked upon the face of Pain | 10 | ·········· |
| I shrank repelled, as one shrinks from a foe | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Who stands with dagger poised, as for a blow. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I was in search of Pleasure and of Gain; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I turned aside to let him pass: in vain; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| He looked straight in my eyes and would not go. | 10 | ·········· |
| "Shake hands," he said; "our paths are one, and so | 10 | ····/····· |
| We must be comrades on the way, 'tis plain." | 10 | ···/······ |
| I felt the firm clasp of his hand on mine; | 10 | ·········· |
| Through all my veins it sent a strengthening glow. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I straightway linked my arm in his, and lo! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| He led me forth to joys almost divine; | 10 | ······/·˘/ |
| With God's great truths enriched me in the end: | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And now I hold him as my dearest friend. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
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.