May-day, 1837 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A BCBDAEAEFFA GHGHIJIJFFA KLKLMNONFFP QRQSTUVUFFP WPXPYDZDFF| I | A |
| - | |
| MAY DAY is come While yet the unwillng Spring | B |
| Checks with capricious frown the opening year | C |
| Onward where bleak winds have been whispering | B |
| The punctual Hours their ancient playmate bear | D |
| But those who long have look'd for thee stand by | A |
| Like men who welcome back a friend bereaved | E |
| And camnot smile because his sadden'd eye | A |
| Doth mutely tell them how his soul is grieved | E |
| Even thus too greet thine alter'd face to day | F |
| Thou friend in mourning garb chill melancholy May | F |
| II | A |
| - | |
| To thee the first and readiest smiles of Earth | G |
| Lovely with life renew'd were always given | H |
| To thee belong'd the sunshine and the mirth | G |
| Which bathed all Nature with a glow from Heaven | H |
| To thee the joy of Childhood's earnest heart | I |
| His shouting song and light elastic tread | J |
| His brows high arch'd and laughing lips apart | I |
| Bright as the wreath that bound his rosy head | J |
| Thou wert of Innocence the holiday | F |
| Thou garlanded and glad thou ever blooming May | F |
| III | A |
| - | |
| Yet will I not reproach thee for thy change | K |
| Closed be the flower and leafless be the tree | L |
| Smile not as thou wert wont but sad and strange | K |
| And joyless let thy tardy coming be | L |
| So shall I miss those infant voices less | M |
| Calling each other through the garden bowers | N |
| Meeting and parting in wild happiness | O |
| Leading a light dance thro' the sunny hours | N |
| Those little mirthful hearts who far away | F |
| Breathe amid cloud capp'd hills a yet more wintry May | F |
| IV | P |
| - | |
| Ah boys your play ground is a desert spot | Q |
| Revisited alone and bathed with tears | R |
| And where ye pass your May day knoweth not | Q |
| The mother who hath watch'd your dawning years | S |
| Mine is no more the joy to see ye come | T |
| And deem each step hath some peculiar grace | U |
| Yours is no more the mother's welcome home | V |
| Smiling at each beloved familiar face | U |
| And I an thankfiul that this dreary May | F |
| Recals not save by name that brighter happier day | F |
| V | P |
| - | |
| I should have felt more mock'd if there had been | W |
| More peace and sunshine round me had the grove | P |
| Clad in transparent leaves of tender green | X |
| Been full of murm'ring sounds of Nature's love | P |
| I should have wept more bitterly beneath | Y |
| The frail laburnum trees so faint and fair | D |
| I should have sicken'd at the lilac's breath | Z |
| Thrown by the warm sun on the silent air | D |
| But now with stern regret I wend my way | F |
| I know thee not thou cold and unfamiliar May | F |
Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton
(1)
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