White Nocturne Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEEFGAHGIJJKLMMBN KONPQRSQTUVU WVXWAYAYZA2A2ZJJB2B2 TC2C2D2C2E2E2F2SG2SH 2I2J2I2K2L2L2 M2N2N2O2P2K2K2JJVEQ2 AJC2C2AR2S2M2M2ZT2ZG G I2OU2U2Q2VOU2AAOU2 I2FV2VV2VVW2VX2X2I2I 2HX2C2C2Y2Y2JI2I2JI2 Z2I2 I2I2C2C2I2JA3 DJB3C3D3B3E3I2I2E3I2 I2I2I2T2T2F3I2F3I2I2 G2I2I2I2A3I2 I2C2I2C2I2OU2I2I2G3I 2FFI2I2I2I2 I2I2| The first soft snowflakes hovering down the night | A |
| From one white cloud that hurries beneath the stars | B |
| Whispering over the black unfrozen pool | C |
| Silently falling on withered leaves | D |
| Eddying slowly among bare boughs of trees | E |
| The music you are to me is as ghostly as these | E |
| Softly falling softly passing | F |
| Wandering slowly on dreamless air | G |
| The first soft snowflakes slanting down this night | A |
| Melt on the lifted palms of your hands | H |
| Or in the fragrant darkness of your hair | G |
| One of them finds your lip and you quietly laugh | I |
| A laught that means to say | J |
| 'This was the kiss you gave me yesterday | J |
| Or the ghost of it ah yes the ghost of it | K |
| For the ghost of it is all we have to day ' | L |
| The first slow snowflakes pass | M |
| Leaving a sprinkled whiteness on leaves and grass | M |
| The cloud whirls ghostlike against the cold bright stars | B |
| Over the long black boughs that seem to reach | N |
| Forlornly after it | K |
| And now it is gone and suddenly we seem | O |
| To walk in silence where before we walked in speech | N |
| But the silence itself is exquisite | P |
| Like a pause in music ghostly with overtones | Q |
| And silent we seem to hear | R |
| The echoes of words we spoke and heard last year | S |
| Clearly our footsteps sound on the moistened stones | Q |
| Clearly the lamplit hill street gleams before us | T |
| And silently we climb | U |
| Climbing our tragic destiny together | V |
| From lamp to lamp up the bright street of time | U |
| - | |
| II | - |
| You sit beneath the lamp and talk to me | W |
| With dark hair somehow turned to fire | V |
| Your white hands lie in your lap or touch your lips | X |
| And your talk like music weaving intricately | W |
| Plays upon me It is a magic of white | A |
| Touching and changing all familiar things | Y |
| It flows in the windy night | A |
| It quietly opens secret doors it sings | Y |
| It returns upon itself repeats denies | Z |
| Or takes sweet pleasure in silence And all the while | A2 |
| You sit beneath the lamp and smile | A2 |
| Or turn away your eyes | Z |
| We remember you seem to say | J |
| Choosing strange words to say it in another way | J |
| How slowly and how inevitably we change | B2 |
| How what was then familiar now grows strange | B2 |
| White valleys fall between us | T |
| Your words become a wind and heavily blow | C2 |
| We seem to be crying across a chasm of snow | C2 |
| Trying to hear the half remembered words | D2 |
| Trying to guess what we no longer know | C2 |
| Yes life changes we are never the same | E2 |
| Your eyes grow dark with a tiny flame | E2 |
| You say the words and wait | F2 |
| And a sudden terror seizes me for I fear | S |
| That you have divined the things that I have forgotten | G2 |
| Things that still shine before you white and clear | S |
| Yes it is strange You sigh your talk flows on | H2 |
| You touch your hair with your hands and sigh | I2 |
| And suddenly then it seems to me that this word | J2 |
| This word so quietly said was a terrible cry | I2 |
| And I am confused I desire to touch your hand | K2 |
| But again white chasms open the night flows chill | L2 |
| And something freezes within me and I am still | L2 |
| - | |
| III | - |
| The snowflakes tick the frosted windowpane | M2 |
| The night is mad with the senseless dance of flakes | N2 |
| The coal fire sinks and shakes | N2 |
| And I wait by the window and look along the street | O2 |
| To where in the snow beneath a lamp | P2 |
| A man and a woman stand | K2 |
| He is leaning close to her face he takes her hand | K2 |
| He pleads with her she tries to turn away | J |
| What is it he leans to say | J |
| What is the savage music he plays upon her | V |
| What chords profound with memories | E |
| He takes her in his arms and she is his | Q2 |
| She lifts her face in the sombre light | A |
| And together slowly they walk away | J |
| Whirled about by the mad dance of snow | C2 |
| Down the white silent street from lamp to lamp they go | C2 |
| Into the immortal night | A |
| Where have they gone Where will the white streets lead them | R2 |
| To what tempestuous or ignoble end | S2 |
| To what faint peace or dazzling pain | M2 |
| The snowflakes whirl and madden my brain | M2 |
| They whirl in patterns before my eyes | Z |
| And I see them at last in a small and sombre room | T2 |
| In the yellow lamplight I see them rise | Z |
| She smiles and lifts white hands to touch her hair | G |
| And he waits wearily in the eternal chair | G |
| - | |
| IV | I2 |
| I would like to touch this snow with the wind of a dream | O |
| With a sudden warmth of music and turn it all | U2 |
| To petals of roses Why is it that I recall | U2 |
| Your two pale hands holding a bowl of roses | Q2 |
| Wide open like lotos flowers floating in water | V |
| I would like to touch this snow with the wind of a dream | O |
| To hold the world in my hands and let it fall | U2 |
| We have walked among the hills immortally white | A |
| Golden by noon and blue by night | A |
| I would like to touch this snow with the wind of a dream | O |
| And hear you singing again by a starlight wall | U2 |
| - | |
| V | I2 |
| You talk to me what is it that you are saying | F |
| April April the soft sun falls between | V2 |
| The deep white chasm the gorge of the frozen river | V |
| Flashes with white and green | V2 |
| And we are walking there by the blue river | V |
| By the blue river scaled with golden fire | V |
| Our feet move pace for pace through the tall grasses | W2 |
| And the earth is light with desire | V |
| Youth youth so sing we for a space | X2 |
| And darkness comes over your face | X2 |
| A great cloud crosses the golden sky | I2 |
| Wind shakes the leaves you fall in the grass and cry | I2 |
| Crying silently hiding your face with your hands | H |
| Youth youth so sing we for a space | X2 |
| And you are crying I know | C2 |
| Because this day this youth this beauty must go | C2 |
| Go down into the dust | Y2 |
| The golden river is dark with a sudden gust | Y2 |
| The green of the willows is ruffled grey | J |
| A great cloud crosses the sky | I2 |
| Wind shakes the leaves you fall in the grass and cry | I2 |
| Youth April we clamour to them to stay | J |
| And a shadow is on us for we know that love must die | I2 |
| And rising then we see white peaks in the distance | Z2 |
| White peaks quiet peace eternity | I2 |
| - | |
| VI | I2 |
| Do you remember you who smiled at me | I2 |
| Under this lamp here in this world of snow | C2 |
| Do you remember long ago | C2 |
| What was I going to tell you What was my dream to be | I2 |
| It does not matter for all we need to say | J |
| To strike our hearts to a bitter chorded music | A3 |
| Is 'do you remember on a certain day ' | - |
| And all the years fall down from us like leaves | D |
| And all this sinister world is blown away | J |
| Take my hand and dream of youth once more | B3 |
| Take my arm and let us walk | C3 |
| On the wet flagstones gleaming yellow with lamps | D3 |
| And along the sea furled shore | B3 |
| Or up a certain flight of marble stairs | E3 |
| Resting our hands on the green veined balustrade | I2 |
| And into a room where a low toned waltz is played | I2 |
| And women rise from gilded chairs | E3 |
| Ah this has been a golden day | I2 |
| You lean and say | I2 |
| A day like music of strange rich involutions | I2 |
| Swift and profound and huddled and sweet | I2 |
| The wind of it blows even into this room | T2 |
| There is a hint of forests in this rich gloom | T2 |
| You smile your eyes intensely darken at mine | F3 |
| I feel the music about us heavily beat | I2 |
| Waver and vanish and shine | F3 |
| One white rose with a golden heart | I2 |
| Held in the cup of your hand | I2 |
| To day I muse all things will find solution | G2 |
| The universe is simple to understand | I2 |
| Take my arm and let us drift | I2 |
| Like leaves when the wind is driven for the day soon ends | I2 |
| It is strange how such a day with such a music | A3 |
| And one white rose will make friends more than friends | I2 |
| - | |
| VII | I2 |
| White hours like snow white hours like eternal snow | C2 |
| Long white streets jewelled with lights | I2 |
| Our steps are muffled and silent we scarcely know | C2 |
| How swiftly we cross the nights | I2 |
| I would like to touch this snow with the fire of a dream | O |
| With the mouth of a dream And turn it all | U2 |
| To petals of roses I would like to touch you too | I2 |
| And change you into the chord of music I knew | I2 |
| Can you not change Run back again to April | G3 |
| Laugh out at me from among young lilac leaves | I2 |
| Play with your jewels and sing | F |
| Feeling the earth beneath you float with spring | F |
| You talk in an even tone I answer you | I2 |
| And all about us seems to say | I2 |
| Peace peace the hills and streets are cold | I2 |
| You are growing cold | I2 |
| - | |
| VIII | I2 |
| Yes we have changed slowly | I2 |
Conrad Potter Aiken
(1)
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About White Nocturne
White Nocturne is a poem by Conrad Potter Aiken. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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