The Legend Of La Brea [1] Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCB DEDE FEEE FGEG FHIH JKLK FMNM OPQR STJT UVWV XYZY CBFB JJEF A2EEE EB2C2B2 CD2DD2 B DF D2A2DA2 EFF CD2F D2A2E2A2 BFFF D2D2F2D2 CG2EG2 D2FFF AFD2F D2GDG CED2E H2FE2F BD2FD2 CCEC EEEE D2ED2F FCD2C AD2DD2 ED2F2D2 I2FEF EFD FJ2EK2E BDown beside the loathly Pitch Lake | A |
In the stately Morichal | B |
Sat an ancient Spanish Indian | C |
Peering through the columns tall | B |
- | |
Watching vainly for the flashing | D |
Of the jewelled colibris | E |
Listening vainly for their humming | D |
Round the honey blossomed trees | E |
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'Few ' he sighed 'they come and fewer | F |
To the cocorite bowers | E |
Murdered madly through the forests | E |
Which of yore were theirs and ours | E |
- | |
By there came a negro hunter | F |
Lithe and lusty sleek and strong | G |
Rolling round his sparkling eyeballs | E |
As he loped and lounged along | G |
- | |
Rusty firelock on his shoulder | F |
Rusty cutlass on his thigh | H |
Never jollier British subject | I |
Rollicked underneath the sky | H |
- | |
British law to give him safety | J |
British fleets to guard his shore | K |
And a square of British freehold | L |
He had all we have and more | K |
- | |
Fattening through the endless summer | F |
Like his own provision ground | M |
He had reached the summum bonum | N |
Which our latest wits have found | M |
- | |
So he thought and in his hammock | O |
Gnawed his junk of sugar cane | P |
Toasted plantains at the fire stick | Q |
Gnawed and dozed and gnawed again | R |
- | |
Had a wife in his ajoupa | S |
Or at least what did instead | T |
Children too who died so early | J |
He'd no need to earn their bread | T |
- | |
Never stole save what he needed | U |
From the Crown woods round about | V |
Never lied except when summoned | W |
Let the warden find him out | V |
- | |
Never drank except at market | X |
Never beat his sturdy mate | Y |
She could hit as hard as he could | Z |
And had just as hard a pate | Y |
- | |
Had no care for priest nor parson | C |
Hope of heaven nor fear of hell | B |
And in all his views of nature | F |
Held with Comte and Peter Bell | B |
- | |
Healthy happy silly kindly | J |
Neither care nor toil had he | J |
Save to work an hour at sunrise | E |
And then hunt the colibri | F |
- | |
Not a bad man not a good man | A2 |
Scarce a man at all one fears | E |
If the Man be that within us | E |
Which is born of fire and tears | E |
- | |
Round the palm stems round the creepers | E |
Flashed a feathered jewel past | B2 |
Ruby crested topaz throated | C2 |
Plucked the cocorite bast | B2 |
- | |
Plucked the fallen ceiba cotton | C |
Whirred away to build his nest | D2 |
Hung at last with happy humming | D |
Round some flower he fancied best | D2 |
- | |
Up then went the rusty muzzle | B |
'Dat de tenth I shot to day ' | - |
But out sprang the Indian shouting | D |
Balked the negro of his prey | F |
- | |
'Eh you Senor Trinidada | D2 |
What dis new ondacent plan | A2 |
Spoil a genl'man's chance ob shooting | D |
I as good as any man | A2 |
- | |
'Dese not your woods dese de Queen's woods | E |
You seem not know whar you ar | F |
Gibbin' yuself dese buckra airs here | F |
You black Indian Papist Dar ' | - |
- | |
Stately courteous stood the Indian | C |
Pointed through the palm tree shade | D2 |
'Does the gentleman of colour | F |
Know how yon Pitch Lake was made ' | - |
- | |
Grinned the negro grinned and trembled | D2 |
Through his nerves a shudder ran | A2 |
Saw a snake like eye that held him | E2 |
Saw he'd met an Obeah man | A2 |
- | |
Saw a fetish such a bottle | B |
Buried at his cottage door | F |
Toad and spider dirty water | F |
Rusty nails and nine charms more | F |
- | |
Saw in vision such a cock's head | D2 |
In the path and it was white | D2 |
Saw Brinvilliers in his pottage | F2 |
Faltered cold and damp with fright | D2 |
- | |
Fearful is the chance of poison | C |
Fearful too the great unknown | G2 |
Magic brings some positivists | E |
Humbly on their marrow bone | G2 |
- | |
Like the wedding guest enchanted | D2 |
There he stood a trembling cur | F |
While the Indian told his story | F |
Like the Ancient Mariner | F |
- | |
Told how 'Once that loathly Pitch Lake | A |
Was a garden bright and fair | F |
How the Chaymas off the mainland | D2 |
Built their palm ajoupas there | F |
- | |
'How they throve and how they fattened | D2 |
Hale and happy safe and strong | G |
Passed the livelong days in feasting | D |
Passed the nights in dance and song | G |
- | |
'Till they cruel grew and wanton | C |
Till they killed the colibris | E |
Then outspake the great Good Spirit | D2 |
Who can see through all the trees | E |
- | |
'Said And what have I not sent you | H2 |
Wanton Chaymas many a year | F |
Lapp agouti cachicame | E2 |
Quenc and guazu pita deer | F |
- | |
' Fish I sent you sent you turtle | B |
Chip chip conch flamingo red | D2 |
Woodland paui horned screamer | F |
And blue ramier overhead | D2 |
- | |
' Plums from balata and mombin | C |
Tania manioc water vine | C |
Let you fell my slim manacques | E |
Tap my sweet moriche wine | C |
- | |
' Sent rich plantains food of angels | E |
Rich ananas food of kings | E |
Grudged you none of all my treasures | E |
Save these lovely useless things | E |
- | |
'But the Chaymas' ears were deafened | D2 |
Blind their eyes and could not see | E |
How a blissful Indian's spirit | D2 |
Lived in every colibri | F |
- | |
'Lived forgetting toil and sorrow | F |
Ever fair and ever new | C |
Whirring round the dear old woodland | D2 |
Feeding on the honey dew | C |
- | |
'Till one evening roared the earthquake | A |
Monkeys howled and parrots screamed | D2 |
And the Guaraons at morning | D |
Gathered here as men who dreamed | D2 |
- | |
'Sunk were gardens sunk ajoupas | E |
Hut and hammock man and hound | D2 |
And above the Chayma village | F2 |
Boiled with pitch the cursed ground | D2 |
- | |
'Full and too full safe and too safe | I2 |
Negro man take care take care | F |
He that wantons with God's bounties | E |
Of God's wrath had best beware | F |
- | |
'For the saucy reckless heartless | E |
Evil days are sure in store | F |
You may see the Negro sinking | D |
As the Chayma sank of yore ' | - |
- | |
Loudly laughed that stalwart hunter | F |
'Eh what superstitious talk | J2 |
Nyam am nyam an' maney maney | E |
Birds am birds like park am park | K2 |
An' dere's twenty thousand birdskins | E |
Ardered jes' now fram New Yark ' | - |
- | |
Eversley | B |
Charles Kingsley
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