The Hammers: Part 05 - St. Helena, May, 1821 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABACDEFBGAHHAAIAHAHJ BKLHMHNHEJOPG AQARQSSCTTAIIUTTTSVW WWDWAXYDTRA ZZTTA2B2TC2TDDTD2D2E 2 AHD2F2F2AHG2H2I2J2K2 HI2EETI2L2SATM2HTN2A| Tap Tap Tap | A |
| Through the white tropic night | B |
| Tap Tap | A |
| Beat the hammers | C |
| Unwearied indefatigable | D |
| They are hanging dull black cloth about the dead | E |
| Lustreless black cloth | F |
| Which chokes the radiance of the moonlight | B |
| And puts out the little moving shadows of leaves | G |
| Tap Tap | A |
| The knocking makes the candles quaver | H |
| And the long black hangings waver | H |
| Tap Tap Tap | A |
| Tap Tap | A |
| In the ears which do not heed | I |
| Tap Tap | A |
| Above the eyelids which do not flicker | H |
| Tap Tap | A |
| Over the hands which do not stir | H |
| Chiselled like a cameo of white agate against the hangings | J |
| Struck to brilliance by the falling moonlight | B |
| A face | K |
| Sharp as a frozen flame | L |
| Beautiful as an altar lamp of silver | H |
| And still Perfectly still | M |
| In the next room the men chatter | H |
| As they eat their midnight lunches | N |
| A knife hits against a platter | H |
| But the figure on the bed | E |
| Between the stifling black hangings | J |
| Is cold and motionless | O |
| Played over by the moonlight from the windows | P |
| And the indistinct shadows of leaves | G |
| - | |
| Tap Tap | A |
| Upholsterer Darling has a fine shop in Jamestown | Q |
| Tap Tap | A |
| Andrew Darling has ridden hard from Longwood to see to the work in his shop | R |
| in Jamestown | Q |
| He has a corps of men in it toiling and swearing | S |
| Knocking and measuring and planing and squaring | S |
| Working from a chart with figures | C |
| Comparing with their rules | T |
| Setting this and that part together with their tools | T |
| Tap Tap Tap | A |
| Haste indeed | I |
| So great is the need | I |
| That carpenters have been taken from the new church | U |
| Joiners have been called from shaping pews and lecterns | T |
| To work of greater urgency | T |
| Coffins | T |
| Coffins is what they are making this bright Summer morning | S |
| Coffins and all to measurement | V |
| There is a tin coffin | W |
| A deal coffin | W |
| A lead coffin | W |
| And Captain Bennett's best mahogany dining table | D |
| Has been sawed up for the grand outer coffin | W |
| Tap Tap Tap | A |
| Sunshine outside in the square | X |
| But inside only hollow coffins and the tapping upon them | Y |
| The men whistle | D |
| And the coffins grow under their hammers | T |
| In the darkness of the shop | R |
| Tap Tap Tap | A |
| - | |
| Tramp of men | Z |
| Steady tramp of men | Z |
| Slit eyed Chinese with long pigtails | T |
| Bearing oblong things upon their shoulders | T |
| March slowly along the road to Longwood | A2 |
| Their feet fall softly in the dust of the road | B2 |
| Sometimes they call gutturally to each other and stop to shift shoulders | T |
| Four coffins for the little dead man | C2 |
| Four fine coffins | T |
| And one of them Captain Bennett's dining table | D |
| And sixteen splendid Chinamen all strong and able | D |
| And of assured neutrality | T |
| Ah George of England Lord Bathhurst amp Co | D2 |
| Your princely munificence makes one's heart glow | D2 |
| Huzza Huzza For the Lion of England | E2 |
| - | |
| Tap Tap Tap | A |
| Marble likeness of an Emperor | H |
| Dead man who burst your heart against a world too narrow | D2 |
| The hammers drum you to your last throne | F2 |
| Which always you shall hold alone | F2 |
| Tap Tap | A |
| The glory of your past is faded as a sunset fire | H |
| Your day lingers only like the tones of a wind lyre | G2 |
| In a twilit room | H2 |
| Here is the emptiness of your dream | I2 |
| Scattered about you | J2 |
| Coins of yesterday | K2 |
| Double napoleons stamped with Consul or Emperor | H |
| Strange as those of Herculaneum | I2 |
| And you just dead | E |
| Not one spool of thread | E |
| Will these buy in any market place | T |
| Lay them over him | I2 |
| They are the baubles of a crown of mist | L2 |
| Worn in a vision and melted away at waking | S |
| Tap Tap | A |
| His heart strained at kingdoms | T |
| And now it is content with a silver dish | M2 |
| Strange World Strange Wayfarer | H |
| Strange Destiny | T |
| Lower it gently beside him and let it lie | N2 |
| Tap Tap Tap | A |
Amy Lowell
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About The Hammers: Part 05 - St. Helena, May, 1821
The Hammers: Part 05 - St. Helena, May, 1821 is a poem by Amy Lowell. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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