Off Shore Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABABBCDCDDAEAEEAFAFF GHGHHIJIJJKLKLLMNMNN OPOPPOIOIIKQKRQOIOII IIIIIIIIIIOIOIIISISS KIKIILILIITUTUUTJTJJ IIIIIIKIKKKKKKKGKGKK IIIIIISISSJIJIIIIIII KVKVVKOKOOIOIOOJUUUU AWAWWIOIOOXKXKKUIUII OIOIIOOOOOKIKIIYIAII OOOOO

When the might of the summerA
Is most on the seaB
When the days overcome herA
With joy but to beB
With rapture of royal enchantment and sorcery that sets her not freeB
But for hours upon hoursC
As a thrall she remainsD
Spell bound as with flowersC
And content in their chainsD
And her loud steeds fret not and lift not a lock of their deep white manesD
Then only far underA
In the depths of her holdE
Some gleam of its wonderA
Man's eye may beholdE
Its wild weed forests of crimson and russet and olive and goldE
Still deeper and dimmerA
And goodlier they glowF
For the eyes of the swimmerA
Who scans them belowF
As he crosses the zone of their flowerage that knows not of sunshine and snowF
Soft blossomless frondageG
And foliage that gleamsH
As to prisoners in bondageG
The light of their dreamsH
The desire of a dawn unbeholden with hope on the wings of its beamsH
Not as prisoners entombedI
Waxen haggard and wizenJ
But consoled and illumedI
In the depths of their prisonJ
With delight of the light everlasting and vision of dawn on them risenJ
From the banks and the bedsK
Of the waters divineL
They lift up their headsK
And the flowers of them shineL
Through the splendour of darkness that clothes them of water that glimmers like wineL
Bright bank over bankM
Making glorious the gloomN
Soft rank upon rankM
Strange bloom after bloomN
They kindle the liquid low twilight the dusk of the dim sea's wombN
Through the subtle and tangibleO
Gloom without formP
Their branches infrangibleO
Ever of stormP
Spread softer their sprays than the shoots of the woodland when April is warmP
As the flight of the thunder fullO
Charged with its wordI
Dividing the wonderfulO
Depths like a birdI
Speaks wrath and delight to the heart of the night that exults to have heardI
So swiftly though soundlessK
In silence's earQ
Light winged from the boundlessK
Blue depths full of cheerR
Speaks joy to the heart of the waters that part not before him but hearQ
Light perfect and visibleO
Godhead of GodI
God indivisibleO
Lifts but his rodI
And the shadows are scattered in sunder and darkness is light at his nodI
At the touch of his wandI
At the nod of his headI
From the spaces beyondI
Where the dawn hath her bedI
Earth water and air are transfigured and rise as one risen from the deadI
He puts forth his handI
And the mountains are thrilledI
To the heart as they standI
In his presence fulfilledI
With his glory that utters his grace upon earth and her sorrows are stilledI
The moan of her travailO
That groans for the lightI
Till dayspring unravelO
The weft of the nightI
At the sound of the strings of the music of morning falls dumb with delightI
He gives forth his wordI
And the word that he saithS
Ere well it be heardI
Strikes darkness to deathS
For the thought of his heart is the sunrise and dawn as the sound of his breathS
And the strength of its pulsesK
That passion makes proudI
Confounds and convulsesK
The depths of the cloudI
Of the darkness that heaven was engirt with divided and rent as a shroudI
As the veil of the shrineL
Of the temple of oldI
When darkness divineL
Over noonday was rolledI
So the heart of the night by the pulse of the light is convulsed and controlledI
And the sea's heart groaningT
For glories withdrawnU
And the waves' mouths moaningT
All night for the dawnU
Are uplift as the hearts and the mouths of the singers on leaside and lawnU
And the sound of the quiringT
Of all these as oneJ
Desired and desiringT
Till dawn's will be doneJ
Fills full with delight of them heaven till it burns as the heart of the sunJ
Till the waves too inheritI
And waters take partI
In the sense of the spiritI
That breathes from his heartI
And are kindled with music as fire when the lips of the morning partI
With music unheardI
In the light of her lipsK
In the life giving wordI
Of the dewfall that dripsK
On the grasses of earth and the wind that enkindles the wings of the shipsK
White glories of wingsK
As of seafaring birdsK
That flock from the springsK
Of the sunrise in herdsK
With the wind for a herdsman and hasten or halt at the change of his wordsK
As the watchword's changeG
When the wind's note shiftsK
And the skies grow strangeG
And the white squall driftsK
Up sharp from the sea line vexing the sea till the low cloud liftsK
At the charge of his wordI
Bidding pause bidding hasteI
When the ranks are stirredI
And the lines displacedI
They scatter as wild swans parting adrift on the wan green wasteI
At the hush of his wordI
In a pause of his breathS
When the waters have heardI
His will that he saithS
They stand as a flock penned close in its fold for division of deathS
As a flock by divisionJ
Of death to be thinnedI
As the shades in a visionJ
Of spirits that sinnedI
So glimmer their shrouds and their sheetings as clouds on the stream of the windI
But the sun stands fastI
And the sea burns brightI
And the flight of them pastI
Is no more than the flightI
Of the snow soft swarm of serene wings poised and afloat in the lightI
Like flowers upon flowersK
In a festival wayV
When hours after hoursK
Shed grace on the dayV
White blossomlike butterflies hover and gleam through the snows of the sprayV
Like snow coloured petalsK
Of blossoms that fleeO
From storm that unsettlesK
The flower as the treeO
They flutter a legion of flowers on the wing through the field of the seaO
Through the furrowless fieldI
Where the foam blossoms blowO
And the secrets are sealedI
Of their harvest belowO
They float in the path of the sunbeams as flakes or as blossoms of snowO
Till the sea's ways darkenJ
And the God withdrawnU
Give ear not or hearkenU
If prayer on him fawnU
And the sun's self seem but a shadow the noon as a ghost of the dawnU
No shadow but ratherA
God father of songW
Shew grace to me FatherA
God loved of me longW
That I lose not the light of thy face that my trust in thee work me not wrongW
While yet I make forwardI
With face toward theeO
Not turned yet in shorewardI
Be thine upon meO
Be thy light on my forehead or ever I turn it again from the seaO
As a kiss on my browX
Be the light of thy graceK
Be thy glance on me nowX
From the pride of thy placeK
As the sign of a sire to a son be the light on my face of thy faceK
Thou wast father of oldenU
Times hailed and adoredI
And the sense of thy goldenU
Great harp's monochordI
Was the joy in the soul of the singers that hailed thee for master and lordI
Fair father of allO
In thy ways that have trodI
That have risen at thy callO
That have thrilled at thy nodI
Arise shine lighten upon me O sun that we see to be GodI
As my soul has been dutifulO
Only to theeO
O God most beautifulO
Lighten thou meO
As I swim through the dim long rollers with eyelids uplift from the seaO
Be praised and adored of usK
All in accordI
Father and lord of usK
Alway adoredI
The slayer and the stayer and the harper the light of us all and our lordI
At the sound of thy lyreY
At the touch of thy rodI
Air quickens to fireA
By the foot of thee trodI
The saviour and healer and singer the living and visible GodI
The years are before theeO
As shadows of theeO
As men that adore theeO
As cloudlets that fleeO
But thou art the God and thy kingdom is heaven and thy shrine is the seaO

Algernon Charles Swinburne



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