A Prodigal Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABACDBCEDFEGGH IJKLMJMLNMMNOP| The brown enormous odor he lived by | A |
| was too close with its breathing and thick hair | B |
| for him to judge The floor was rotten the sty | A |
| was plastered halfway up with glass smooth dung | C |
| Light lashed self righteous above moving snouts | D |
| the pigs' eyes followed him a cheerful stare | B |
| even to the sow that always ate her young | C |
| till sickening he leaned to scratch her head | E |
| But sometimes mornings after drinking bouts | D |
| he hid the pints behind the two by fours | F |
| the sunrise glazed the barnyard mud with red | E |
| the burning puddles seemed to reassure | G |
| And then he thought he almost might endure | G |
| his exile yet another year or more | H |
| - | |
| But evenings the first star came to warn | I |
| The farmer whom he worked for came at dark | J |
| to shut the cows and horses in the barn | K |
| beneath their overhanging clouds of hay | L |
| with pitchforks faint forked lightnings catching light | M |
| safe and companionable as in the Ark | J |
| The pigs stuck out their little feet and snored | M |
| The lantern like the sun going away | L |
| laid on the mud a pacing aureole | N |
| Carrying a bucket along a slimy board | M |
| he felt the bats' uncertain staggering flight | M |
| his shuddering insights beyond his control | N |
| touching him But it took him a long time | O |
| finally to make up his mind to go home | P |
Elizabeth Bishop
(3)
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About A Prodigal
A Prodigal is a poem by Elizabeth Bishop. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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