Acquainted with the Night
BY ROBERT FROST
I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.
I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.
Definition and Explanation of Terza Rima
Terza rima is an Italian stanza form popularized by Alighieri after the publication of his Divine Comedy. The pattern, ABA BCB DED, is known as an interlocking rhyme scheme. Aside from this pattern, there are no other elements that define a terza rima poem. Poets do not need to use a specific metrical pattern or use a certain number of lines. Despite this, the majority of the English examples make use of iambic pentameter.
a very tricky rhyming scheme, amazed by frost's perfect incorporation of this scheme