- description
- # Misgivings.
## Overview
"Misgivings." is a segment of poetry, dated 1860, extracted from the collection "[Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9)". It is part of the larger "[Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW)" collection.
## Context
This poem is one of several segments extracted from the file "[battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8)". It follows the poem "[The Portent.](arke:01KG8AJJNP6KAY946MQ41HHEDG)" and precedes "[The Conflict of Convictions.](arke:01KG8AJJNMMJ0P29XDS96AJ2SK)".
## Contents
The poem "Misgivings." reflects on the state of the nation, using imagery of storms and natural turmoil to symbolize internal conflict and societal ills. The speaker expresses a sense of foreboding, observing the "tempest bursting from the waste of Time" and linking the nation's "fairest hope" with its "foulest crime." The poem notes a shift towards acknowledging nature's "dark side," suggesting a growing awareness of underlying problems despite any previous optimism. The imagery of a child reading a "moody brow" and torrents rushing down gorges further emphasizes a somber and turbulent atmosphere.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:19.454Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- Misgivings.
- end_line
- 82
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 61
- text
- Misgivings.
(1860.)
When ocean-clouds over inland hills
Sweep storming in late autumn brown,
And horror the sodden valley fills,
And the spire falls crashing in the town,
I muse upon my country’s ills--
The tempest bursting from the waste of Time
On the world’s fairest hope linked with man’s foulest crime.
Nature’s dark side is heeded now--
(Ah! optimist-cheer disheartened flown)--
A child may read the moody brow
Of yon black mountain lone.
With shouts the torrents down the gorges go,
And storms are formed behind the storm we feel:
The hemlock shakes in the rafter, the oak in the driving keel.
- title
- Misgivings.