On The Cliffs Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCBDDEEFGFGGFHHIJJI KIKLKLKBBBMMAAMHBBHB BBHNNHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHOPPOOPBBQBQQCRRST OOUTUVVWWBBXXYPPYZFF FYYKKWFFWHHFA2A2B2C2 C2B2C2PPOBBOHHD2HD2D 2EED2E2E2F2F2G2G2H2H 2I2D2D2I2ACJ2J2K2L2K 2L2D2D2D2BL2D2BM2M2D 2M2BN2N2YD2D2YD2D2YO 2O2YZD2D2I2P2I2I2Q2I 2P2R2Q2R2XLLXTTTD2D2 A2A2D2D2OOPPBBXLLXBB OOD2D2M2M2M2D2D2XXS2 S2OOD2D2RRT2T2FFKKD2 S2D2S2S2D2D2U2U2KD2D 2KFFV2V2XXV2K2D2D2K2 BBU2U2EU2S2J2S2S2ED2 D2D2UUD2UD2D2K2K2BBD 2D2AAPAPYYOOD2D2D2D2 D2D2D2D2D2D2D2CCD2AD 2D2D2D2OOOWWK2K2K2D2 D2D2EJ2OYD2OYD2OOOS2 U2U2S2S2U2XU2XD2D2D2 D2D2D2D2D2D2U2PU2PPK 2K2W2K2D2D2W2W2W2W2K KKD2D2D2D2D2D2D2D2D2 D2W2D2W2W2OD2OD2OD2S OSOOX2X2OX2OY2Y2OXXD 2U2D2D2U2AAS2S2U2D2D 2U2U2OD2OXXWW

Between the moondawn and the sundown here	A
The twilight hangs half starless half the sea	B
Still quivers as for love or pain or fear	C
Or pleasure mightier than these all may be	B
A man's live heart might beat	D
Wherein a God's with mortal blood should meet	D
And fill its pulse too full to bear the strain	E
With fear or love or pleasure's twin born pain	E
Fiercely the gaunt woods to the grim soil cling	F
That bears for all fair fruits	G
Wan wild sparse flowers of windy and wintry spring	F
Between the tortive serpent shapen roots	G
Wherethrough their dim growth hardly strikes and shoots	G
And shews one gracious thing	F
Hardly to speak for summer one sweet word	H
Of summer's self scarce heard	H
But higher the steep green sterile fields thick set	I
With flowerless hawthorn even to the upward verge	J
Whence the woods gathering watch new cliffs emerge	J
Higher than their highest of crowns that sea winds fret	I
Hold fast for all that night or wind can say	K
Some pale pure colour yet	I
Too dim for green and luminous for grey	K
Between the climbing inland cliffs above	L
And these beneath that breast and break the bay	K
A barren peace too soft for hate or love	L
Broods on an hour too dim for night or day	K
O wind O wingless wind that walk'st the sea	B
Weak wind wing broken wearier wind than we	B
Who are yet not spirit broken maimed like thee	B
Who wail not in our inward night as thou	M
In the outer darkness now	M
What word has the old sea given thee for mine ear	A
From thy faint lips to hear	A
For some word would she send me knowing not how	M
Nay what far other word	H
Than ever of her was spoken or of me	B
Or all my winged white kinsfolk of the sea	B
Between fresh wave and wave was ever heard	H
Cleaves the clear dark enwinding tree with tree	B
Too close for stars to separate and to see	B
Enmeshed in multitudinous unity	B
What voice of what strong God hath stormed and stirred	H
The fortressed rock of silence rent apart	N
Even to the core Night's all maternal heart	N
What voice of God grown heavenlier in a bird	H
Made keener of edge to smite	H
Than lightning yea thou knowest O mother Night	H
Keen as that cry from thy strange children sent	H
Wherewith the Athenian judgment shrine was rent	H
For wrath that all their wrath was vainly spent	H
Their wrath for wrong made right	H
By justice in her own divine despite	H
That bade pass forth unblamed	H
The sinless matricide and unashamed	H
Yea what new cry is this what note more bright	H
Than their song's wing of words was dark of flight	H
What word is this thou hast heard	H
Thine and not thine or theirs O Night what word	H
More keen than lightning and more sweet than light	H
As all men's hearts grew godlike in one bird	H
And all those hearts cried on thee crying with might	H
Hear us O mother Night	H
Dumb is the mouth of darkness as of death	O
Light sound and life are one	P
In the eyes and lips of dawn that draw the sun	P
To hear what first child's word with glimmering breath	O
Their weak wan weanling child the twilight saith	O
But night makes answer none	P
God if thou be God bird if bird thou be	B
Do thou then answer me	B
For but one word what wind soever blow	Q
Is blown up usward ever from the sea	B
In fruitless years of youth dead long ago	Q
And deep beneath their own dead leaves and snow	Q
Buried I heard with bitter heart and sere	C
The same sea's word unchangeable nor knew	R
But that mine own life days were changeless too	R
And sharp and salt with unshed tear on tear	S
And cold and fierce and barren and my soul	T
Sickening swam weakly with bated breath	O
In a deep sea like death	O
And felt the wind buffet her face with brine	U
Hard and harsh thought on thought in long bleak roll	T
Blown by keen gusts of memory sad as thine	U
Heap the weight up of pain and break and leave	V
Strength scarce enough to grieve	V
In the sick heavy spirit unmanned with strife	W
Of waves that beat at the tired lips of life	W
Nay sad may be man's memory sad may be	B
The dream he weaves him as for shadow of thee	B
But scarce one breathing space one heartbeat long	X
Wilt thou take shadow of sadness on thy song	X
Not thou being more than man or man's desire	Y
Being bird and God in one	P
With throat of gold and spirit of the sun	P
The sun whom all our souls and songs call sire	Y
Whose godhead gave thee chosen of all our quire	Z
Thee only of all that serve of all that sing	F
Before our sire and king	F
Borne up some space on time's world wandering wing	F
This gift this doom to bear till time's wing tire	Y
Life everlasting of eternal fire	Y
Thee only of all yet can no memory say	K
How many a night and day	K
My heart has been as thy heart and my life	W
As thy life is a sleepless hidden thing	F
Full of the thirst and hunger of winter and spring	F
That seeks its food not in such love or strife	W
As fill men's hearts with passionate hours and rest	H
From no loved lips and on no loving breast	H
Have I sought ever for such gifts as bring	F
Comfort to stay the secret soul with sleep	A2
The joys the loves the labours whence men reap	A2
Rathe fruit of hopes and fears	B2
I have made not mine the best of all my days	C2
Have been as those fair fruitless summer strays	C2
Those water waifs that but the sea wind steers	B2
Flakes of glad foam or flowers on footless ways	C2
That take the wind in season and the sun	P
And when the wind wills is their season done	P
For all my days as all thy days from birth	O
My heart as thy heart was in me as thee	B
Fire and not all the fountains of the sea	B
Have waves enough to quench it nor on earth	O
Is fuel enough to feed	H
While day sows night and night sows day for seed	H
We were not marked for sorrow thou nor I	D2
For joy nor sorrow sister were we made	H
To take delight and grief to live and die	D2
Assuaged by pleasures or by pains affrayed	D2
That melt men's hearts and alter we retain	E
A memory mastering pleasure and all pain	E
A spirit within the sense of ear and eye	D2
A soul behind the soul that seeks and sings	E2
And makes our life move only with its wings	E2
And feed but from its lips that in return	F2
Feed of our hearts wherein the old fires that burn	F2
Have strength not to consume	G2
Nor glory enough to exalt us past our doom	G2
Ah ah the doom thou knowest whence rang that wail	H2
Of the shrill nightingale	H2
From whose wild lips thou knowest that wail was thrown	I2
For round about her have the great gods cast	D2
A wing borne body and clothed her close and fast	D2
With a sweet life that hath no part in moan	I2
But me for me how hadst thou heart to hear	A
Remains a sundering with the two edged spear	C
Ah for her doom so cried in presage then	J2
The bodeful bondslave of the king of men	J2
And might not win her will	K2
Too close the entangling dragnet woven of crime	L2
The snare of ill new born of elder ill	K2
The curse of new time for an elder time	L2
Had caught and held her yet	D2
Enmeshed intolerably in the intolerant net	D2
Who thought with craft to mock the God most high	D2
And win by wiles his crown of prophecy	B
From the Sun's hand sublime	L2
As God were man to spare or to forget	D2
But thou the gods have given thee and forgiven thee	B
More than our master gave	M2
That strange eyed spirit wounded strange tongued slave	M2
There questing houndlike where the roofs red wet	D2
Reeked as a wet red grave	M2
Life everlasting has their strange grace given thee	B
Even hers whom thou wast wont to sing and serve	N2
With eyes but not with song too swift to swerve	N2
Yet might not even thine eyes estranged estrange her	Y
Who seeing thee too but inly burn and bleed	D2
Like that pale princess priest of Priam's seed	D2
For stranger service gave thee guerdon stranger	Y
If this indeed be guerdon this indeed	D2
Her mercy this thy meed	D2
That thou being more than all we born being higher	Y
Than all heads crowned of him that only gives	O2
The light whereby man lives	O2
The bay that bids man moved of God's desire	Y
Lay hand on lute or lyre	Z
Set lip to trumpet or deflowered green reed	D2
If this were given thee for a grace indeed	D2
That thou being first of all these thou alone	I2
Shouldst have the grace to die not but to live	P2
And lose nor change one pulse of song one tone	I2
Of all that were thy lady's and thine own	I2
Thy lady's whom thou criedst on to forgive	Q2
Thou priest and sacrifice on the altar stone	I2
Where none may worship not of all that live	P2
Love's priestess errant on dark ways diverse	R2
If this were grace indeed for Love to give	Q2
If this indeed were blessing and no curse	R2
Love's priestess mad with pain and joy of song	X
Song's priestess mad with joy and pain of love	L
Name above all names that are lights above	L
We have loved praised pitied crowned and done thee wrong	X
O thou past praise and pity thou the sole	T
Utterly deathless perfect only and whole	T
Immortal body and soul	T
For over all whom time hath overpast	D2
The shadow of sleep inexorable is cast	D2
The implacable sweet shadow of perfect sleep	A2
That gives not back what life gives death to keep	A2
Yea all that lived and loved and sang and sinned	D2
Are all borne down death's cold sweet soundless wind	D2
That blows all night and knows not whom its breath	O
Darkling may touch to death	O
But one that wind hath touched and changed not one	P
Whose body and soul are parcel of the sun	P
One that earth's fire could burn not nor the sea	B
Quench nor might human doom take hold on thee	B
All praise all pity all dreams have done thee wrong	X
All love with eyes love blinded from above	L
Song's priestess mad with joy and pain of love	L
Love's priestess mad with pain and joy of song	X
Hast thou none other answer then for me	B
Than the air may have of thee	B
Or the earth's warm woodlands girdling with green girth	O
Thy secret sleepless burning life on earth	O
Or even the sea that once being woman crowned	D2
And girt with fire and glory of anguish round	D2
Thou wert so fain to seek to fain to crave	M2
If she would hear thee and save	M2
And give thee comfort of thy great green grave	M2
Because I have known thee always who thou art	D2
Thou knowest have known thee to thy heart's own heart	D2
Nor ever have given light ear to storied song	X
That did thy sweet name sweet unwitting wrong	X
Nor ever have called thee nor would call for shame	S2
Thou knowest but inly by thine only name	S2
Sappho because I have known thee and loved hast thou	O
None other answer now	O
As brother and sister were we child and bird	D2
Since thy first Lesbian word	D2
Flamed on me and I knew not whence I knew	R
This was the song that struck my whole soul through	R
Pierced my keen spirit of sense with edge more keen	T2
Even when I knew not even ere sooth was seen	T2
When thou wast but the tawny sweet winged thing	F
Whose cry was but of spring	F
And yet even so thine ear should hear me yea	K
Hear me this nightfall by this northland bay	K
Even for their sake whose loud good word I had	D2
Singing of thee in the all beloved clime	S2
Once where the windy wine of spring makes mad	D2
Our sisters of Majano who kept time	S2
Clear to my choral rhyme	S2
Yet was the song acclaimed of these aloud	D2
Whose praise had made mute humbleness misproud	D2
The song with answering song applauded thus	U2
But of that Daulian dream of Itylus	U2
So but for love's love haply was it nay	K
How else that even their song took my song's part	D2
For love of love and sweetness of sweet heart	D2
Or god given glorious madness of mid May	K
And heat of heart and hunger and thirst to sing	F
Full of the new wine of the wind of spring	F
Or if this were not and it be not sin	V2
To hold myself in spirit of thy sweet kin	V2
In heart and spirit of song	X
If this my great love do thy grace no wrong	X
Thy grace that gave me grace to dwell therein	V2
If thy gods thus be my gods and their will	K2
Made my song part of thy song even such part	D2
As man's hath of God's heart	D2
And my life like as thy life to fulfil	K2
What have our gods then given us Ah to thee	B
Sister much more much happier than to me	B
Much happier things they have given and more of grace	U2
Than falls to man's light race	U2
For lighter are we all our love and pain	E
Lighter than thine who knowest of time or place	U2
Thus much that place nor time	S2
Can heal or hurt or lull or change again	J2
The singing soul that makes his soul sublime	S2
Who hears the far fall of its fire fledged rhyme	S2
Fill darkness as with bright and burning rain	E
Till all the live gloom inly glows and light	D2
Seems with the sound to cleave the core of night	D2
The singing soul that moves thee and that moved	D2
When thou wast woman and their songs divine	U
Who mixed for Grecian mouths heaven's lyric wine	U
Fell dumb fell down reproved	D2
Before one sovereign Lesbian song of thine	U
That soul though love and life had fain held fast	D2
Wind winged with fiery music rose and past	D2
Through the indrawn hollow of earth and heaven and hell	K2
As through some strait sea shell	K2
The wide sea's immemorial song the sea	B
That sings and breathes in strange men's ears of thee	B
How in her barren bride bed void and vast	D2
Even thy soul sang itself to sleep at last	D2
To sleep Ah then what song is this that here	A
Makes all the night one ear	A
One ear fulfilled and mad with music one	P
Heart kindling as the heart of heaven to hear	A
A song more fiery than the awakening sun	P
Sings when his song sets fire	Y
To the air and clouds that build the dead night's pyre	Y
O thou of divers coloured mind O thou	O
Deathless God's daughter subtle souled lo now	O
Now too the song above all songs in flight	D2
Higher than the day star's height	D2
And sweet as sound the moving wings of night	D2
Thou of the divers coloured seat behold	D2
Her very song of old	D2
O deathless O God's daughter subtle souled	D2
That same cry through this boskage overhead	D2
Rings round reiterated	D2
Palpitates as the last palpitated	D2
The last that panted through her lips and died	D2
Not down this grey north sea's half sapped cliff side	D2
That crumbles toward the coastline year by year	C
More near the sands and near	C
The last loud lyric fiery cry she cried	D2
Heard once on heights Leucadian heard not here	A
Not here for this that fires our northland night	D2
This is the song that made	D2
Love fearful even the heart of love afraid	D2
With the great anguish of its great delight	D2
No swan song no far fluttering half drawn breath	O
No word that love of love's sweet nature saith	O
No dirge that lulls the narrowing lids of death	O
No healing hymn of peace prevented strife	W
This is her song of life	W
I loved thee hark one tenderer note than all	K2
Atthis of old time once one low long fall	K2
Sighing one long low lovely loveless call	K2
Dying one pause in song so flamelike fast	D2
Atthis long since in old time overpast	D2
One soft first pause and last	D2
One then the old rage of rapture's fieriest rain	E
Storms all the music maddened night again	J2
Child of God close craftswoman I beseech thee	O
Bid not ache nor agony break nor master	Y
Lady my spirit	D2
O thou her mistress might her cry not reach thee	O
Our Lady of all men's loves could Love go past her	Y
Pass and not hear it	D2
She hears not as she heard not hears not me	O
O treble natured mystery how should she	O
Hear or give ear who heard and heard not thee	O
Heard and went past and heard not but all time	S2
Hears all that all the ravin of his years	U2
Hath cast not wholly out of all men's ears	U2
And dulled to death with deep dense funeral chime	S2
Of their reiterate rhyme	S2
And now of all songs uttering all her praise	U2
All hers who had thy praise and did thee wrong	X
Abides one song yet of her lyric days	U2
Thine only this thy song	X
O soul triune woman and god and bird	D2
Man man at least has heard	D2
All ages call thee conqueror and thy cry	D2
The mightiest as the least beneath the sky	D2
Whose heart was ever set to song or stirred	D2
With wind of mounting music blown more high	D2
Than wildest wing may fly	D2
Hath heard or hears even schylus as I	D2
But when thy name was woman and thy word	D2
Human then haply surely then meseems	U2
This thy bird's note was heard on earth of none	P
Of none save only in dreams	U2
In all the world then surely was but one	P
Song as in heaven at highest one sceptred sun	P
Regent on earth here surely without fail	K2
One only one imperious nightingale	K2
Dumb was the field the woodland mute the lawn	W2
Silent the hill was tongueless as the vale	K2
Even when the last fair waif of cloud that felt	D2
Its heart beneath the colouring moonrays melt	D2
At high midnoon of midnight half withdrawn	W2
Bared all the sudden deep divine moondawn	W2
Then unsaluted by her twin born tune	W2
That latter timeless morning of the moon	W2
Rose past its hour of moonrise clouds gave way	K
To the old reconquering ray	K
But no song answering made it more than day	K
No cry of song by night	D2
Shot fire into the cloud constraining light	D2
One only one olian island heard	D2
Thrill but through no bird's throat	D2
In one strange manlike maiden's godlike note	D2
The song of all these as a single bird	D2
Till the sea's portal was as funeral gate	D2
For that sole singer in all time's ageless date	D2
Singled and signed for so triumphal fate	D2
All nightingales but one in all the world	D2
All her sweet life were silent only then	W2
When her life's wing of womanhood was furled	D2
Their cry this cry of thine was heard again	W2
As of me now of any born of men	W2
Through sleepless clear spring nights filled full of thee	O
Rekindled here thy ruling song has thrilled	D2
The deep dark air and subtle tender sea	O
And breathless hearts with one bright sound fulfilled	D2
Or at midnoon to me	O
Swimming and birds about my happier head	D2
Skimming one smooth soft way by water and air	S
To these my bright born brethren and to me	O
Hath not the clear wind borne or seemed to bear	S
A song wherein all earth and heaven and sea	O
Were molten in one music made of thee	O
To enforce us O our sister of the shore	X2
Look once in heart back landward and adore	X2
For songless were we sea mews yet had we	O
More joy than all things joyful of thee more	X2
Haply than all things happiest nay save thee	O
In thy strong rapture of imperious joy	Y2
Too high for heart of sea borne bird or boy	Y2
What living things were happiest if not we	O
But knowing not love nor change nor wrath nor wrong	X
No more we knew of song	X
Song and the secrets of it and their might	D2
What blessings curse it and what curses bless	U2
I know them since my spirit had first in sight	D2
Clear as thy song's words or the live sun's light	D2
The small dark body's Lesbian loveliness	U2
That held the fire eternal eye and ear	A
Were as a god's to see a god's to hear	A
Through all his hours of daily and nightly chime	S2
The sundering of the two edged spear of time	S2
The spear that pierces even the sevenfold shields	U2
Of mightiest Memory mother of all songs made	D2
And wastes all songs as roseleaves kissed and frayed	D2
As here the harvest of the foam flowered fields	U2
But thine the spear may waste not that he wields	U2
Since first the God whose soul is man's live breath	O
The sun whose face hath our sun's face for shade	D2
Put all the light of life and love and death	O
Too strong for life but not for love too strong	X
Where pain makes peace with pleasure in thy song	X
And in thine heart where love and song make strife	W
Fire everlasting of eternal life	W

Algernon Charles Swinburne

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