Be Still, my soul, be Still (by A.E. Housman).

This is poem number 48 of Housman's

A Shropshire Lad.:

Be still, my soul, be still; the arms you

bear are brittle,

    Earth and high heaven are fixt of old

and founded strong.

Think rather, – call to thought, if now

you grieve a little,

    The days when we had rest, O soul

for they were long.

Men loved unkindness then, but light-

less in the quarry

     I slept and saw not; tears fell down,

I did not mourn;

Sweat ran and blood sprang out and I

was never sorry:

     Then it was well with me, in days

ere I was born.

Now, and I muse for why and never

find a reason,

     I pace the earth, and drink the air,

and feel the sun.

Be still, be still, my soul; it is but for

a season: 

     Let us endure an hour and see in-

justice done.

Ay, look: high heaven and earth ail

from the prime foundation;

     All thoughts to rive the heart are

here, and all are vain: 

Horror and scorn and hate and fear

and indignation –

     Oh why did I awake? When shall

I sleep again?

The poem with the stressed

syllables underlined:

Be still, my soul, be still; the arms you

bear are brittle,

    Earth and high heaven are fixt of old

and founded strong.

Think rather, – call to thought, if now

you grieve a little,

    The days when we had rest, O soul

for they were long.

Men loved unkindness then, but light-

less in the quarry

     I slept and saw not; tears fell down,

I did not mourn;

Sweat ran and blood sprang out and I

was never sorry:

     Then it was well with me, in days

ere I was born.

Now, and I muse for why and never

find a reason,

     I pace the earth, and drink the air,

and feel the sun.

Be still, be still, my soul; it is but for

a season: 

     Let us endure an hour and see in-

justice done.

Ay, look: high heaven and earth ail

from the prime foundation;

     All thoughts to rive the heart are

here, and all are vain: 

Horror and scorn and hate and fear

and indignation –

     Oh why did I awake? When shall

I sleep again?

Analysis:

Note the use of "Earth and high heaven"

in the first verse and "high heaven and

earth" in the last verse. Switching the

order of words to avoid making it too

repetitive sounding.

© C.A. MacLennan 2024