Siena Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDDD EFEFGGHHH HHDDBBIII JKLKIIDDD IIMGIINNN IOIOIIPPP IIQQPPRRR SIGIIIRHH TUIIIIIII VHVHIIPPP IIPPPPWWW PWPWIIPPP XXYYPPZZZ IA2IA2MGB2B2B2 C2D2PPPPIII HIHIE2E2RRR IIIIPPF2A2G2 IH2G2H2PPI2I2I2 J2J2IIIIPPP G2IG2IG2G2G2G2G2 IIIIIIK2K2L2 IRIM2G2G2PPP PPHHI2I2G2G2G2 PPPPIII2I2I2 H2H2PPN2I2

Inside this northern summer's foldA
The fields are full of naked goldA
Broadcast from heaven on lands it lovesB
The green veiled air is full of dovesB
Soft leaves that sift the sunbeams letC
Light on the small warm grasses wetC
Fall in short broken kisses sweetD
And break again like waves that beatD
Round the sun's feetD
-
But I for all this English mirthE
Of golden shod and dancing daysF
And the old green girt sweet hearted earthE
Desire what here no spells can raiseF
Far hence with holier heavens aboveG
The lovely city of my loveG
Bathes deep in the sun satiate airH
That flows round no fair thing more fairH
Her beauty bareH
-
There the utter sky is holier thereH
More pure the intense white height of airH
More clear men's eyes that mine would meetD
And the sweet springs of things more sweetD
There for this one warm note of dovesB
A clamour of a thousand lovesB
Storms the night's ear the day's assailsI
From the tempestuous nightingalesI
And fills and failsI
-
O gracious city well belovedJ
Italian and a maiden crownedK
Siena my feet are no more movedL
Toward thy strange shapen mountain boundK
But my heart in me turns and movesI
O lady loveliest of my lovesI
Toward thee to lie before thy feetD
And gaze from thy fair fountain seatD
Up the sheer streetD
-
And the house midway hanging seeI
That saw Saint Catherine bodilyI
Felt on its floors her sweet feet moveM
And the live light of fiery loveG
Burn from her beautiful strange faceI
As in the sanguine sacred placeI
Where in pure hands she took the headN
Severed and with pure lips still redN
Kissed the lips deadN
-
For years through sweetest of the saintsI
In quiet without cease she wroughtO
Till cries of men and fierce complaintsI
From outward moved her maiden thoughtO
And prayers she heard and sighs toward FranceI
God send us back deliveranceI
Send back thy servant lest we dieP
With an exceeding bitter cryP
They smote the skyP
-
Then in her sacred saving handsI
She took the sorrows of the landsI
With maiden palms she lifted upQ
The sick time's blood embittered cupQ
And in her virgin garment furledP
The faint limbs of a wounded worldP
Clothed with calm love and clear desireR
She went forth in her soul's attireR
A missive fireR
-
Across the might of men that stroveS
It shone and over heads of kingsI
And molten in red flames of loveG
Were swords and many monstrous thingsI
And shields were lowered and snapt were spearsI
And sweeter tuned the clamorous yearsI
And faith came back and peace that wereR
Fled for she bade saying Thou God's heirH
Hast thou no careH
-
Lo men lay waste thine heritageT
Still and much heathen people rageU
Against thee and devise vain thingsI
What comfort in the face of kingsI
What counsel is there Turn thine eyesI
And thine heart from them in like wiseI
Turn thee unto thine holy placeI
To help us that of God for graceI
Require thy faceI
-
For who shall hear us if not thouV
In a strange land what doest thou thereH
Thy sheep are spoiled and the ploughers ploughV
Upon us why hast thou no careH
For all this and beyond strange hillsI
Liest unregardful what snow chillsI
Thy foldless flock or what rains beatP
Lo in thine ears before thy feetP
Thy lost sheep bleatP
-
And strange men feed on faultless livesI
And there is blood and men put knivesI
Shepherd unto the young lamb's throatP
And one hath eaten and one smoteP
And one had hunger and is fedP
Full of the flesh of these and redP
With blood of these as who drinks wineW
And God knoweth who hath sent thee a signW
If these were thineW
-
But the Pope's heart within him burnedP
So that he rose up seeing the signW
And came among them but she turnedP
Back to her daily way divineW
And fed her faith with silent thingsI
And lived her life with curbed white wingsI
And mixed herself with heaven and diedP
And now on the sheer city sideP
Smiles like a brideP
-
You see her in the fresh clear gloomX
Where walls shut out the flame and bloomX
Of full breathed summer and the roofY
Keeps the keen ardent air aloofY
And sweet weight of the violent skyP
There bodily beheld on highP
She seems as one hearing in tuneZ
Heaven within heaven at heaven's full noonZ
In sacred swoonZ
-
A solemn swoon of sense that achesI
With imminent blind heat of heavenA2
While all the wide eyed spirit wakesI
Vigilant of the supreme SevenA2
Whose choral flames in God's sight moveM
Made unendurable with loveG
That without wind or blast of breathB2
Compels all things through life and deathB2
Whither God saithB2
-
There on the dim side chapel wallC2
Thy mighty touch memorialD2
Razzi raised up for ages deadP
And fixed for us her heavenly headP
And rent with plaited thorn and rodP
Bared the live likeness of her GodP
To men's eyes turning from strange landsI
Where pale from thine immortal handsI
Christ wounded standsI
-
And the blood blots his holy hairH
And white brows over hungering eyesI
That plead against us and the fairH
Mute lips forlorn of words or sighsI
In the great torment that bends downE2
His bruised head with the bloomless crownE2
White as the unfruitful thorn flowerR
A God beheld in dreams that wereR
Beheld of herR
-
In vain on all these sins and yearsI
Falls the sad blood fall the slow tearsI
In vain poured forth as waterspringsI
Priests on your altars and ye kingsI
About your seats of sanguine goldP
Still your God spat upon and soldP
Bleeds at your hands but now is goneF2
All his flock from him saving oneA2
Judas aloneG2
-
Surely your race it was that heI
O men signed backward with his nameH2
Beholding in GethsemaneG2
Bled the red bitter sweat of shameH2
Knowing how the word of Christian shouldP
Mean to men evil and not goodP
Seem to men shameful for your sakeI2
Whose lips for all the prayers they makeI2
Man's blood must slakeI2
-
But blood nor tears ye love not youJ2
That my love leads my longing toJ2
Fair as the world's old faith of flowersI
O golden goddesses of oursI
From what Idalian rose pleasanceI
Hath Aphrodite bidden glanceI
The lovelier lightnings of your feetP
From what sweet Paphian sward or seatP
Led you more sweetP
-
O white three sisters three as oneG2
With flowerlike arms for flowery bandsI
Your linked limbs glitter like the sunG2
And time lies beaten at your handsI
Time and wild years and wars and menG2
Pass and ye care not whence or whenG2
With calm lips over sweet for scornG2
Ye watch night pass O children bornG2
Of the old world mornG2
-
Ah in this strange and shrineless placeI
What doth a goddess what a GraceI
Where no Greek worships her shrined limbsI
With wreaths and Cytherean hymnsI
Where no lute makes luxuriousI
The adoring airs in AmathusI
Till the maid knowing her mother nearK2
Sobs with love aching with sweet fearK2
What do ye hereL2
-
For the outer land is sad and wearsI
A raiment of a flaming fireR
And the fierce fruitless mountain stairsI
Climb yet seem wroth and loth to aspireM2
Climb and break and are broken downG2
And through their clefts and crests the townG2
Looks west and sees the dead sun lieP
In sanguine death that stains the skyP
With angry dyeP
-
And from the war worn wastes withoutP
In twilight in the time of doubtP
One sound comes of one whisper whereH
Moved with low motions of slow airH
The great trees nigh the castle swingI2
In the sad coloured eveningI2
Ricorditi di me che sonG2
La Pia that small sweet word aloneG2
Is not yet goneG2
-
Ricorditi di me the soundP
Sole out of deep dumb days remoteP
Across the fiery and fatal groundP
Comes tender as a hurt bird's noteP
To where a ghost with empty handsI
A woe worn ghost her palace standsI
In the mid city where the strongI2
Bells turn the sunset air to songI2
And the towers throngI2
-
With other face with speech the sameH2
A mightier maiden's likeness cameH2
Late among mourning men that sleptP
A sacred ghost that went and weptP
White as the passion wounded LambN2
SayingI2

Algernon Charles Swinburne



Rate:
(1)



Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme

Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation


Write your comment about Siena poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne


 

Recent Interactions*

This poem was read 1 times,

This poem was added to the favorite list by 0 members,

This poem was voted by 0 members.

(* Interactions only in the last 7 days)

New Poems

Popular Poets