Friar Yves Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCCDEEFFGDF HIIGHGJKLKMCNOJPQCQ RSTUTVUWGXGYYCCZA2A2 B2B2C2C2D2 E2ZA2F2E2F2E2D2QHQQG 2G2H2D2D2I2J2HJ2I2HH K2K2L2M2L2N2O2N2P2 HHQ2Q2HR2S2S2R2T2S2Q QU2T2U2S2S2U2U2S2S2 QU2U2QU2IU2IV2D2D2V2 HHD2 G2G2W2S2X2W2S2X2QQU2 U2U2U2S2Y2 S2Z2CCCZ2CS2S2CCCC S2S2D2D2QA3HQB3B3U2H U2S2C3S2D3 CHHE3HHE3HHS2HS2H S2S2

Said Friar Yves God will blessA
Saint Louis' other worldlinessB
Whatever the fate be still I fareC
To fight for the Holy SepulcherC
If I survive I shall returnD
With precious things from PalestineE
Gold for my purse spices and wineE
Glory to wear among my kinF
Fame as a warrior I shall winF
But otherwise if I am slainG
In Jesus' cause my soul shall earnD
Immortal life washed white from sinF
-
Said Friar Yves Come what willH
Riches and glory death and woeI
At dawn to Palestine I goI
Whether I live or die I gainG
To fly the tepid good and illH
Of daily living in ChampagneG
Where those who reach salvation loseJ
The treasures raptures of the earthK
Captured possessed and made to serveL
The gospel love of Jesus' birthK
Sacrifice death where even thoseM
Passing from pious works and prayerC
To paradise are not receivedN
As those who battled strove and livedO
And periled bodies as I chooseJ
To peril mine and thus to useP
Body and soul to build the throneQ
Of Louis the Saint where Joseph's careC
Lay Jesus under a granite stoneQ
-
Then Friar Yves buckled onR
His breastplate and at break of dawnS
With crossboy halberd took his wayT
Walked without resting without pauseU
Till the sun hovered at middayT
Over a tree of glistening leavesV
Where a spring gurgled Hunger gnawsU
My stomach whispered Friar YvesW
If I he sighed could only gainG
Like yonder spring an inner sourceX
Of life and need not dew or rainG
Of human love or human friendsY
And thus accomplish my soul's endsY
Within myself No said the friarC
There is one water and one fireC
There is one Spirit which is GodZ
And what are we but streams and springsA2
Through which He takes His wanderingsA2
Lord I am weak I am afraidB2
Show me the way the friar prayedB2
Where do I flow and to what endC2
Am I of Thee or do I blendC2
Hereafter with TheeD2
-
Yves heardE2
While praying sounds as when the sodZ
Teems with a swarm of insect thingsA2
He dropped his halberd to look downF2
And then his waking vision blurredE2
As one before a light will frownF2
His inner ear was caught and stirredE2
By voices then the chestnut treeD2
Became a step beside a throneQ
Breathless he lay and fearfullyH
While on his brain a vision shoneQ
Said a Great Voice of sweetest toneQ
The time has come when I must takeG2
The form of man for mankind's sakeG2
This drama is played long enoughH2
By creatures who have naught of meD2
Save what comes up from foam of the seaD2
To crawling moss or swimming weedsI2
At last to man From heaven in flameJ2
Pure whole and vital down I flyH
And take a mortal's form and nameJ2
And labor for the race's needsI2
Then Friar Yves dreamed the skyH
Flushed like a bride's face rosilyH
And shot to lightning from its bloomK2
The world leaped like a babe in the wombK2
And choral voices from heaven's copeL2
Circled the earth like singing starsM2
O wondrous hope O sweetest hopeL2
O passion realized at lastN2
O end of hunger fear and warsO2
O victory over the bottomless vastN2
Valley of DeathP2
-
A silence fellH
Broke by the voice of GabrielH
Music may follow this O LordQ2
Music I hear I hear discordQ2
Through ages yet to be as wellH
There will be wars because of thisR2
And wars will come in its despiteS2
It's noon on the world now blackest nightS2
Will follow soon And men will missR2
The meaning Lord There will be strifeT2
'Twixt Montanist and EbioniteS2
Gnostic Mithraist ManicheanQ
'Twixt Christian and the SaracenQ
There will be war to win the placeU2
Where you bend death to sovereign lifeT2
Armed kings will battle for the graceU2
Of rulership for power and goldS2
In the name of Jesus Men will holdS2
Conclaves of swords to win surceaseU2
Of doctrines of the Prince of PeaceU2
The seed is good Lord make the groundS2
Good for the seed you scatter roundS2
-
Said the Great Voice of sweetest toneQ
The gardener sprays his plants and treesU2
To drive out lice and stop diseaseU2
After the spraying fruit is grownQ
Ruddy and plump The shortened eyesU2
Of men can see this end althoughI
Leaves wither or a whole tree diesU2
From what the gardener does to growI
Apples and plums of sweeter fleshV2
The gardener lives outside the treeD2
The gardener knows the tree can seeD2
What cure is needed plans afreshV2
An end foreseen and there's the willH
Wherewith the gardener may fulfilH
The orchard's destinyD2
-
So He spakeG2
And Friar Yves seemed to wakeG2
But did not wake and only sunkW2
Into another dreaming stateS2
Wherein he saw a woman's formX2
Leaning against the chestnut's trunkW2
Her body was virginal white and straightS2
And glowed like a dawning golden warmX2
Behind a robe of writhing greenQ
As when a rock's wall makes a screenQ
Whereon the crisscross reflect movesU2
Of circling water under the raysU2
Of April sunlight through the spraysU2
Of budding branches in willow grovesU2
A liquid mosaic of green and goldS2
Thus was her robeY2
-
But to beholdS2
Her face was to forget the youthZ2
Of her white bosom All her hairC
Was tangled serpents she did wearC
A single eye in the middle browC
Her cheeks were shriveled and one toothZ2
Stuck from shrunken gums A boughC
O'ershadowed her the while she grippedS2
A pail in either hand One drippedS2
Clear water one ethereal fireC
Then to the Graia spoke the friarC
Have mercy Tell me your desireC
And what you areC
-
Then the Graia saidS2
My body is Nature and my headS2
Is Man and God has given meD2
A seeing spirit strong and freeD2
Though by a single eye as evenQ
Man has one vision at a timeA3
I lift my pails up mark them wellH
With this fire I will burn up heavenQ
And with this water I will quenchB3
The flames of hell's remotest trenchB3
That men may work in righteousnessU2
Not for the fears of an after hellH
Nor for the rewards which heaven will blessU2
The soul with when the mountains nodS2
And the sun darkens but for loveC3
Of Man and Life and love of GodS2
Now lookD3
-
She dashed the pail of fireC
Against the vault of heaven It fellH
As would a canopy of blueH
Burned by a soldier's careless torchE3
She dashed the water into hellH
And a great steam rose up with the smellH
Of gaseous coals which seemed to scorchE3
All things which on the good earth grewH
Now said the Graia loitererH
Awake from slumber rise and speedS2
To fight for the Holy SepulcherH
Nothing is left but Life indeedS2
I have burned heaven I have quenched hellH
-
Friar Yves no longer sleptS2
Friar Yves awoke and weptS2

Edgar Lee Masters



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