Grandeur Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: AB CDEFGHIJ IKILIMI KNIOIPII QIRSTU VSJWSU XIDYK ZSSIA2IB2ISS IB2SIC2S SOXPFSIPVP SD2PSIE2SSK PSF2IZ E2SIIPIISPPG2PISH2 SI2ZJ2PISISSI JSPIIPSSIJSJ K2L2M2SN2PE2PZO2JIE2 E2P2Z SA2SZSE2L2P E2SSHPIIIP ISSPQ2 R2ISE2L2IPZIISPA2S2P SPZSII IST2ISPSSSP

Dedicated to the mountains of the San Juan districtA
Colorado as seen from the summit of Mt WilsonB
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I stood at sunrise on the topmost partC
Of lofty mountain massively sublimeD
A pinnacle of trachyte seamed and scarredE
By countless generations' ceaseless warF
And struggle with the restless elementsG
A rugged point which shot into the airH
As by ambition or desire impelledI
To pierce the eternal precincts of the skyJ
-
Below outspreadI
A scene of such terrific grandeur layK
That reeled the brain at what the eyes beheldI
The hands would clench involuntarilyL
And clutch from intuition for supportI
The eyes by instinct closed nor dared to gazeM
On such an awful and inspiring sightI
-
The sun arose with bright transcendent rayK
Up from behind a bleak and barren reefN
His face resplendent with beatitudeI
Solar effulgence and combustive gleamO
Bathing the scene in such a wealth of lightI
That none could marvel that primeval manP
Rude and untaught whene'er the sun appearedI
Fell down and worshipedI
-
A wilderness of weird fantastic shapesQ
Of precipice and stern declivityI
Of dizzy heights and towering minaretsR
Colossal columns and basaltic spiresS
Which pointing heavenward appeared to waveT
In benediction o'er the depths beneathU
-
Uneven crags and cliffs of various formV
Abysmal depths and dire profunditiesS
Chasms so deep and awful that the eyeJ
Of soaring eagle dare not gaze belowW
Lest dizzied he should lose his aerial poiseS
And headlong falling reach the gulf beneathU
-
Majestic turrets and the stately domeX
Which ovaled by the slow but tireless handI
Of eons of disintegrating timeD
Still with impressive aspect rears its browY
Defiant of mutation and decayK
-
The crevice deep and inaccessibleZ
Fissure and rent where the intrusive dike'sS
Creative and destructive agencyS
Leaves many an enduring monumentI
Of metamorphic and eruptive powerA2
Of molten deluge and volcanic floodI
Fracture and break the silent stories tellB2
Of dire convulsion in the ages pastI
Of subterranean catastropheS
And cataclysm of internal forceS
-
The trachyte wall beseamed and battle scarredI
The porphyritic tower and citadelB2
The granite ramparts and embattlementsS
Of nature's fort impregnable and wildI
Stand as a symbol of eternal strengthC2
And hurl a challenge to the elementsS
-
Canons of startling and appalling depthsS
With caverns vast and gloomy which would seemO
Meet for the haunt of centaur or of gnomeX
The gorgon and the labyrinthodonP
The clumsy mammoth and the dinosaurF
Or all gigantic and unwieldy shapesS
Which earth has seen in the mysterious pastI
Would seem in more accord and harmonyP
With such surroundings than the puny formV
Of insignificant conceited manP
-
And interspersed amid these solemn peaksS
Lie many a pleasant vale and grassy slopeD2
Besprinkled with the drooping columbineP
And fragrant growths of all harmonious tintsS
Whose variegated colors punctuateI
Grandeur with beauty and fearless bloomE2
In the forbidding shadow of the cliffsS
And to the margin of the snowy combsS
Which still resist the sun's persuasive rayK
-
A lakelet cool pellucid and sereneP
Fed by the drippings from eternal snowsS
Lies like a mirror 'neath a frowning cliffF2
Or as a gem majestically ensconcedI
In diadem of crag and pinnacleZ
-
Down towards the distant valley's sultry climeE2
Both solitary and in straggling groupsS
In solid phalanx rigid and compactI
In labyrinth of branches interspreadI
Impervious to the rain and midday sunP
In form spontaneous without regardI
To law of uniformity there standI
In silent awe or whispering to the breezeS
The sombre fir and melancholy pineP
And many a denuded avenueP
Of varying and considerable widthG2
Cut through the growth of balsam spruce and pineP
Which stands erect and proud on either handI
Attests the swift and desolating forceS
Of fearful devastating avalancheH2
-
The mountain rill its pleasant music makesS
As the descendant waters roll alongI2
In rhythmic flow and dulcet cantabileZ
In various concord and harmonious pitchJ2
Pursuant of its journey to the seaP
The murmuring treble of the rivuletI
Uniting with the deep and ponderous bassS
Of torrent wild and foaming cataractI
The thunderous reverberating tonesS
And seething ebullition of the fallsS
Are blended in one grand euphonious chordI
-
Far in the hazy distance as the eyeJ
With vague perceptive vision penetratesS
Lie the vast mesas of ethereal hueP
Stretched in a calm and sleepy quietudeI
Dreamy repose and blue tranquillityI
The eye which rests upon the drowsy sceneP
Beholds a dim horizon which presentsS
No line of demarcation or of boundsS
A merging union blurred and indistinctI
Fuliginous confusion that the eyeJ
In viewing gazes but no more discernsS
Which is the earth and which the azure skyJ
-
But mark the changeK2
A cloud which floated in the atmosphereL2
An inconsiderable and feathery speckM2
Of no proportions now augmented wearsS
A threatening aspect ominously darkN2
Enveloping the heaven's canopyP
In lowering shadow and portentous gloomE2
In pall of ambient obscurityP
The fork ed lightnings ramify and playZ
Upon a background of sepulchral blackO2
The growling thunders rumble a replyJ
Of detonation awful and profoundI
To every corruscation's vivid gleamE2
In deep crescendo and fortissimoE2
In quavering tremolo and stately fugueP2
Echoes reverberates and dies awayZ
-
But soon the sun with smiling radianceS
Through orifice through rift and apertureA2
Invades the storm and dissipates the cloudsS
Which scatter cowering and ephemeralZ
Hugging the cliffs and o'er the dire abyssS
Hover in fleecy ever changing formE2
And in a transient season disappearL2
Vanish as man must vanish and are goneP
-
The moist precipitation of the stormE2
Revives refreshes and invigoratesS
The various vegetation and bedewsS
Each blade of grass and floweret with a tearH
As nature weeping o'er the faults of manP
The day recedes and twilight's neutral shadeI
Succeeds in turn and ushers in the nightI
Whose wings outstretched and shadowy descendI
And in nocturnal mantle robes the sceneP
-
A hush prevails Oppressive and profoundI
A silence broken only by the breezeS
A dormant quiet essence and reposeS
Pervading calm and sweet oblivionP
As nature wrapt in soft refreshing sleepQ2
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Far in the east a solitary starR2
Peeps through the sombre curtain of the nightI
In hesitating dubitation burnsS
In lonely splendor flashes for a timeE2
Till scattering celestial lights appearL2
The vanguard of an astral multitudeI
Of constellations jewelled and sereneP
Which fill the lofty dome of space untilZ
The heavens sparkle with the myriadI
Of spectra nebulae and satelliteI
With stellar scintillation and the orbsS
Of less refulgence which reflective shineP
With falling star and trailing meteorA2
In one grand culmination glitteringS2
To their Creator's gloryP
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A burst of mellow lunar radianceS
Inundates and illuminates the sceneP
The waxing moon in her meridian fullZ
Her beam vicarious disseminatesS
And shining hides with her superior lightI
The twinkling beauty of the firmamentI
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At the stupendous and inspiring sightI
Of cosmic grandeur of the universeS
A sense of vague and overwhelming aweT2
Of inconceivable immensityI
The being's inmost recess permeatesS
And man the atom in comparisonP
In spellbound admiration mutely standsS
With speculative meditation dwellsS
On that most solemn of impressive thoughtsS
The goodness of the Deity to manP

Alfred Castner King



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