A Ballad Of Boding Poem Rhyme Scheme

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Christina Rossetti

A Ballad Of Boding Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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There are sleeping dreams and waking dreams	A
What seems is not always as it seems	A
	-
I looked out of my window in the sweet new morning	B
And there I saw three barges of manifold adorning	B
Went sailing toward the East	C
The first had sails like fire	D
The next like glittering wire	D
But sackcloth were the sails of the least	C
And all the crews made music and two had spread a feast	C
	-
The first choir breathed in flutes	E
And fingered soft guitars	F
The second won from lutes	E
Harmonious chords and jars	F
With drums for stormy bars	F
But the third was all of harpers and scarlet trumpeters	F
Notes of triumph then	G
An alarm again	G
As for onset as for victory rallies stirs	F
Peace at last and glory to the vanquishers	F
	-
The first barge showed for figurehead a Love with wings	F
The second showed for figurehead a Worm with stings	F
The third a Lily tangled to a Rose which clings	F
The first bore for freight gold and spice and down	H
The second bore a sword a sceptre and a crown	H
The third a heap of earth gone to dust and brown	H
Winged Love meseemed like Folly in the face	F
Stinged Worm meseemed loathly in his place	F
Lily and Rose were flowers of grace	F
	-
Merry went the revel of the fire sailed crew	I
Singing feasting dancing to and fro	J
Pleasures ever changing ever graceful ever new	I
Sighs but scarce of woe	J
All the sighing	B
Wooed such sweet replying	B
All the sighing sweet and low	J
Used to come and go	J
For more pleasure merely so	J
Yet at intervals some one grew tired	K
Of everything desired	K
And sank I knew not whither in sorry plight	L
Out of sight	L
	-
The second crew seemed ever	D
Wider visioned graver	D
More distinct of purpose more sustained of will	M
With heads erect and proud	N
And voices sometimes loud	N
With endless tacking counter tacking	B
All things grasping all things lacking	B
It would seem	O
Ever shifting helm or sail or shroud	N
Drifting on as in a dream	O
Hoarding to their utmost bent	P
Feasting to their fill	M
Yet gnawed by discontent	P
Envy hatred malice on their road they went	P
Their freight was not a treasure	D
Their music not a pleasure	D
The sword flashed cleaving through their bands	F
Sceptre and crown changed hands	F
	-
The third crew as they went	P
Seemed mostly different	Q
They toiled in rowing for to them the wind was contrary	R
As all the world might see	R
They labored at the oar	S
While on their heads they bore	S
The fiery stress of sunshine more and more	S
They labored at the oar hand sore	S
Till rain went splashing	B
And spray went dashing	B
Down on them and up on them more and more	S
Their sails were patched and rent	P
Their masts were bent	P
In peril of their lives they worked and went	P
For them no feast was spread	T
No soft luxurious bed	T
Scented and white	L
No crown or sceptre hung in sight	L
In weariness and painfulness	R
In thirst and sore distress	R
They rowed and steered from left to right	L
With all their might	L
Their trumpeters and harpers round about	U
Incessantly played out	U
And sometimes they made answer with a shout	U
But oftener they groaned or wept	V
And seldom paused to eat and seldom slept	V
I wept for pity watching them but more	S
I wept heart sore	S
Once and again to see	R
Some weary man plunge overboard and swim	W
To Love or Worm ship floating buoyantly	M
And there all welcomed him	W
	-
The ships steered each apart and seemed to scorn each other	D
Yet all the crews were interchangeable	M
Now one man now another	D
Like bloodless spectres some some flushed by health	X
Changed openly or changed by stealth	X
Scaling a slippery side and scaled it well	M
The most left Love ship hauling wealth	X
Up Worm ship's side	Y
While some few hollow eyed	Y
Left either for the sack sailed boat	Z
But this though not remote	Z
Was worst to mount and whoso left it once	R
Scarce ever came again	G
But seemed to loathe his erst companions	R
And wish and work them bane	A2
	-
Then I knew I know not how there lurked quicksands full of dread	T
Rocks and reefs and whirlpools in the water bed	T
Whence a waterspout	T
Instantaneously leaped out	T
Roaring as it reared its head	T
	-
Soon I spied a something dim	W
Many handed grim	W
That went flitting to and fro the first and second ship	B2
It puffed their sails full out	T
With puffs of smoky breath	C2
From a smouldering lip	B2
And cleared the waterspout	T
Which reeled roaring round about	T
Threatening death	C2
With a horny hand it steered	T
And a horn appeared	T
On its sneering head upreared	T
Haughty and high	D2
Against the blackening lowering sky	D2
With a hoof it swayed the waves	R
They opened here and there	E2
Till I spied deep ocean graves	R
Full of skeletons	R
That were men and women once	R
Foul or fair	E2
Full of things that creep	F2
And fester in the deep	F2
And never breathe the clean life nurturing air	E2
	-
The third bark held aloof	G2
From the Monster with the hoof	G2
Despite his urgent beck	H2
And fraught with guile	M
Abominable his smile	M
Till I saw him take a flying leap on to that deck	H2
Then full of awe	I2
With these same eyes I saw	R
His head incredible retract its horn	J2
Rounding like babe's new born	J2
While silvery phosphorescence played	T
About his dis horned head	T
The sneer smoothed from his lip	B2
He beamed blandly on the ship	B2
All winds sank to a moan	K2
All waves to a monotone	K2
For all these seemed his realm	L2
While he laid a strong caressing hand upon the helm	L2
	-
Then a cry well nigh of despair	E2
Shrieked to heaven a clamor of desperate prayer	E2
The harpers harped no more	S
While the trumpeters sounded sore	S
An alarm to wake the dead from their bed	T
To the rescue to the rescue now or never	D
To the rescue O ye living O ye dead	T
Or no more help or hope for ever	D
The planks strained as though they must part asunder	D
The masts bent as though they must dip under	D
And the winds and the waves at length	M2
Girt up their strength	M2
And the depths were laid bare	E2
And heaven flashed fire and volleyed thunder	D
Through the rain choked air	E2
And sea and sky seemed to kiss	R
In the horror and the hiss	R
Of the whole world shuddering everywhere	E2
	-
Lo a Flyer swooping down	H
With wings to span the globe	N2
And splendor for his robe	N2
And splendor for his crown	H
He lighted on the helm with a foot of fire	D
And spun the Monster overboard	T
And that monstrous thing abhorred	T
Gnashing with balked desire	D
Wriggled like a worm infirm	O2
Up the Worm	O2
Of the loathly figurehead	T
There he crouched and gnashed	T
And his head re horned and gashed	T
From the other's grapple dripped bloody red	T
	-
I saw that thing accurst	T
Wreak his worst	T
On the first and second crew	I
Some with baited hook	P2
He angled for and took	P2
Some dragged overboard in a net he threw	I
Some he did to death	C2
With hoof or horn or blasting breath	C2
	-
I heard a voice of wailing	B
Where the ships went sailing	B
A sorrowful voice prevailing	B
Above the sound of the sea	R
Above the singers' voices	R
And musical merry noises	R
All songs had turned to sighing	B
The light was failing	B
The day was dying	B
Ah me	R
That such a sorrow should be	R
	-
There was sorrow on the sea and sorrow on the land	T
When Love ship went down by the bottomless quicksand	T
To its grave in the bitter wave	Q2
There was sorrow on the sea and sorrow on the land	T
When Worm ship went to pieces on the rock bound strand	T
And the bitter wave was its grave	Q2
But land and sea waxed hoary	R
In whiteness of a glory	R
Never told in story	R
Nor seen by mortal eye	D2
When the third ship crossed the bar	R2
Where whirls and breakers are	R2
And steered into the splendors of the sky	D2
That third bark and that least	T
Which had never seemed to feast	T
Yet kept high festival above sun and moon and star	R2