Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

To Her Father with Some Verses

by Anne Bradstreet

Reading room

1Most truly honoured, and as truly dear,

2If worth in me or ought I do appear,

3Who can of right better demand the same

4Than may your worthy self from whom it came?

5The principal might yield a greater sum,

6Yet handled ill, amounts but to this crumb;

7My stock's so small I know not how to pay,

8My bond remains in force unto this day;

9Yet for part payment take this simple mite,

10Where nothing's to be had, kings loose their right.

11Such is my debt I may not say forgive,

12But as I can, I'll pay it while I live;

13Such is my bond, none can discharge but I,

14Yet paying is not paid until I die.

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“To Her Father with Some Verses” by Anne Bradstreet — quilloak.com/poems/to-her-father-with-some-verses

Quick facts

Poem: To Her Father with Some Verses
Poet: Anne Bradstreet
Length: 14 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Death & Loss

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Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 14 lines · one 14-line stanza
Line length: Mostly 10-syllable lines (pentameter length).

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Author record: Anne Bradstreet1612–1672
Source record: PoetryDBTo Her Father with Some Verses by anne-bradstreet, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
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Lyric Poem Death & Loss

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