Night Song Of A Wandering Shepherd In Asia Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHGIJKDLEMNOPQ P RCCSTUVVWWXEXYZPA2B2 OOJC2C2D2E2XXF2G2H2H 2I2I2OB2B2H2H2XJ2K2J 2 ML2TL2C2XM2L2PXN2XN2 O2O2P2Q2Q2XDR2XE2M2S 2M2H2R2 TXXMO2O2T2U2U2B2V2XS DD BXXN2XXW2W2W2W2W2XW2 XW2XXXW2DF2DX2W2Y2R2 XXW2W2 XR2Z2A3A3AB3C3Z2B2B2| What doest thou in heaven O moon | A |
| Say silent moon what doest thou | B |
| Thou risest in the evening thoughtfully | C |
| Thou wanderest o'er the plain | D |
| Then sinkest to thy rest again | E |
| And art thou never satisfied | F |
| With going o'er and o'er the selfsame ways | G |
| Art never wearied Dost thou still | H |
| Upon these valleys love to gaze | G |
| How much thy life is like | I |
| The shepherd's life forlorn | J |
| He rises in the early dawn | K |
| He moves his flock along the plain | D |
| The selfsame flocks and streams and herbs | L |
| He sees again | E |
| Then drops to rest the day's work o'er | M |
| And hopes for nothing more | N |
| Tell me O moon what signifies his life | O |
| To him thy life to thee Say whither tend | P |
| My weary short lived pilgrimage | Q |
| Thy course that knows no end | P |
| - | |
| And old man gray infirm | R |
| Half clad and barefoot he | C |
| Beneath his burden bending wearily | C |
| O'er mountain and o'er vale | S |
| Sharp rocks and briars and burning sand | T |
| In wind and storm alike in sultry heat | U |
| And in the winter's cold | V |
| His constant course doth hold | V |
| On on he panting goes | W |
| Nor pause nor rest he knows | W |
| Through rushing torrents over watery wastes | X |
| He falls gets up again | E |
| And ever more and more he hastes | X |
| Torn bleeding and arrives at last | Y |
| Where ends the path | Z |
| Where all his troubles end | P |
| A vast abyss and horrible | A2 |
| Where plunging headlong he forgets them all | B2 |
| Such scene of suffering and of strife | O |
| O moon is this our mortal life | O |
| In travail man is born | J |
| His birth too oft the cause of death | C2 |
| And with his earliest breath | C2 |
| He pain and torment feels e'en from the first | D2 |
| His parents fondly strive | E2 |
| To comfort him in his distress | X |
| And if he lives and grows | X |
| They struggle hard as best they may | F2 |
| With pleasant words and deeds to cheer him up | G2 |
| And seek with kindly care | H2 |
| To strengthen him his cruel lot to bear | H2 |
| This is the best that they can do | I2 |
| For the poor child however fond and true | I2 |
| But wherefore give him life | O |
| Why bring him up at all | B2 |
| If this be all | B2 |
| If life is nought but pain and care | H2 |
| Why why should we the burden bear | H2 |
| O spotless moon such is | X |
| Our mortal life indeed | J2 |
| But thou immortal art | K2 |
| Nor wilt perhaps unto my words give heed | J2 |
| - | |
| Yet thou eternal lonely wanderer | M |
| Who thoughtful lookest on this earthly scene | L2 |
| Must surely understand | T |
| What all our sighs and sufferings mean | L2 |
| What means this death | C2 |
| This color from our cheeks that fades | X |
| This passing from the earth and losing sight | M2 |
| Of every dear familiar scene | L2 |
| Well must thou comprehend | P |
| The reason of these things must see | X |
| The good the morning and the evening bring | N2 |
| Thou knowest thou what love it is | X |
| That brings sweet smiles unto the face of spring | N2 |
| The meaning of the Summer's glow | O2 |
| And of the Winter's frost and snow | O2 |
| And of the silent endless flight of Time | P2 |
| A thousand things to thee their secrets yield | Q2 |
| That from the simple shepherd are concealed | Q2 |
| Oft as I gaze at thee | X |
| In silence resting o'er the desert plain | D |
| Which in the distance borders on the sky | R2 |
| Or following me as I by slow degrees | X |
| My flocks before me drive | E2 |
| And when I gaze upon the stars at night | M2 |
| In thought I ask myself | S2 |
| 'Why all these torches bright | M2 |
| What mean these depths of air | H2 |
| This vast this silent sky | R2 |
| This nightly solitude And what am I ' | - |
| Thus to myself I talk and of this grand | T |
| Magnificent expanse | X |
| And its untold inhabitants | X |
| And all this mighty motion and this stir | M |
| Of things above and things below | O2 |
| No rest that ever know | O2 |
| But as they still revolve must still return | T2 |
| Unto the place from which they came | U2 |
| Of this alas I find nor end nor aim | U2 |
| But thou immortal surely knowest all | B2 |
| This I well know and feel | V2 |
| From these eternal rounds | X |
| And from my being frail | S |
| Others perchance may pleasure profit gain | D |
| To me life is but pain | D |
| - | |
| My flock now resting there how happy thou | B |
| That knowest not I think thy misery | X |
| O how I envy thee | X |
| Not only that from suffering | N2 |
| Thou seemingly art free | X |
| That every trouble every loss | X |
| Each sudden fear thou canst so soon forget | W2 |
| But more because thou sufferest | W2 |
| No weariness of mind | W2 |
| When in the shade upon the grass reclined | W2 |
| Thou seemest happy and content | W2 |
| And great part of the year by thee | X |
| In sweet release from care is spent | W2 |
| But when I sit upon the grass | X |
| And in the friendly shade upon my mind | W2 |
| A weight I feel a sense of weariness | X |
| That as I sit doth still increase | X |
| And rob me of all rest and peace | X |
| And yet I wish for nought | W2 |
| And have till now no reason to complain | D |
| What joy how much I cannot say | F2 |
| But thou some pleasure dost obtain | D |
| My joys are few enough | X2 |
| But not for that do I lament | W2 |
| Ah couldst thou speak I would inquire | Y2 |
| Tell me dear flock the reason why | R2 |
| Each weary breast can rest at ease | X |
| While all things round him seem to please | X |
| And yet if I lie down to rest | W2 |
| I am by anxious thoughts oppressed | W2 |
| - | |
| Perhaps if I had wings | X |
| Above the clouds to fly | R2 |
| And could the stars all number one by one | Z2 |
| Or like the lightning leap from rock to rock | A3 |
| I might be happier my dear flock | A3 |
| I might be happier gentle moon | A |
| Perhaps my thought still wanders from the truth | B3 |
| When I at others' fortunes look | C3 |
| Perhaps in every state beneath the sun | Z2 |
| Or high or low in cradle or in stall | B2 |
| The day of birth is fatal to us all | B2 |
Count Giacomo Leopardi
(1)
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Night Song Of A Wandering Shepherd In Asia is a poem by Count Giacomo Leopardi. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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