The Burglar Of Babylon Poem Rhyme Scheme

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Elizabeth Bishop

The Burglar Of Babylon Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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On the fair green hills of Rio	A
There grows a fearful stain	B
The poor who come to Rio	A
And can't go home again	C
	-
On the hills a million people	D
A million sparrows nest	E
Like a confused migration	F
That's had to light and rest	E
	-
Building its nests or houses	G
Out of nothing at all or air	H
You'd think a breath would end them	I
They perch so lightly there	H
	-
But they cling and spread like lichen	F
And people come and come	J
There's one hill called the Chicken	F
And one called Catacomb	K
	-
There's the hill of Kerosene	L
And the hill of Skeleton	F
The hill of Astonishment	M
And the hill of Babylon	N
	-
Micu ccedil uacute was a burglar and killer	O
An enemy of society	P
He had escaped three times	Q
From the worst penitentiary	P
	-
They don't know how many he murdered	R
Though they say he never raped	S
And he wounded two policemen	T
This last time he escaped	S
	-
They said He'll go to his auntie	P
Who raised him like a son	F
She has a little drink shop	U
On the hill of Babylon	N
	-
He did go straight to his auntie	P
And he drank a final beer	V
He told her The soldiers are coming	W
And I've got to disappear	V
	-
Ninety years they gave me	P
Who wants to live that long	X
I'll settle for ninety hours	Y
On the hill of Babylon	N
	-
Don't tell anyone you saw me	P
I'll run as long as I can	Z
You were good to me and I love you	A2
But I'm a doomed man	Z
	-
Going out he met a mulata	P
Carrying water on her head	P
If you say you saw me daughter	O
You're as good as dead	P
	-
There are caves up there and hideouts	B2
And an old fort falling down	C2
They used to watch for Frenchmen	C
From the hill of Babylon	N
	-
Below him was the ocean	F
It reached far up the sky	D2
Flat as a wall and on it	P
Were freighters passing by	D2
	-
Or climbing the wall and climbing	W
Till each looked like a fly	D2
And then fell over and vanished	P
And he knew he was going to die	D2
	-
He could hear the goats baa baa ing	W
He could hear the babies cry	D2
Fluttering kites strained upward	P
And he knew he was going to die	D2
	-
A buzzard flapped so near him	E2
He could see its naked neck	F2
He waved his arms and shouted	P
Not yet my son not yet	P
	-
An Army helicopter	O
Came nosing around and in	T
He could see two men inside it	P
but they never spotted him	E2
	-
The soldiers were all over	O
On all sides of the hill	G2
And right against the skyline	H2
A row of them small and still	G2
	-
Children peeked out of windows	I2
And men in the drink shop swore	J2
And spat a little cacha ccedil a	K2
At the light cracks in the floor	J2
	-
But the soldiers were nervous even	T
with tommy guns in hand	P
And one of them in a panic	L2
Shot the officer in command	P
	-
He hit him in three places	G
The other shots went wild	P
The soldier had hysterics	M2
And sobbed like a little child	P
	-
The dying man said Finish	N2
The job we came here for	J2
he committed his soul to God	P
And his sons to the Governor	O
	-
They ran and got a priest	P
And he died in hope of Heaven	F
A man from Pernambuco	L2
The youngest of eleven	F
	-
They wanted to stop the search	O2
but the Army said No go on	N
So the soldiers swarmed again	C
Up the hill of Babylon	N
	-
Rich people in apartments	P2
Watched through binoculars	Y
As long as the daylight lasted	P
And all night under the stars	Q2
	-
Micu ccedil uacute hid in the grasses	G
Or sat in a little tree	P
Listening for sounds and staring	L2
At the lighthouse out at sea	P
	-
And the lighthouse stared back at him	E2
til finally it was dawn	R2
He was soaked with dew and hungry	P
On the hill of Babylon	N
	-
The yellow sun was ugly	P
Like a raw egg on a plate	P
Slick from the sea He cursed it	P
For he knew it sealed his fate	P
	-
He saw the long white beaches	G
And people going to swim	E2
With towels and beach umbrellas	G
But the soldiers were after him	E2
	-
Far far below the people	D
Were little colored spots	S2
And the heads of those in swimming	L2
Were floating coconuts	T2
	-
He heard the peanut vendor	O
Go peep peep on his whistle	D
And the man that sells umbrellas	G
Swinging his watchman's rattle	D
	-
Women with market baskets	T2
Stood on the corners and talked	P
Then went on their way to market	P
Gazing up as they walked	P
	-
The rich with their binoculars	Y
Were back again and many	P
Were standing on the rooftops	U2
Among TV antennae	P
	-
It was early eight or eight thirty	P
He saw a soldier climb	V2
Looking right at him He fired	P
And missed for the last time	V2
	-
He could hear the soldier panting	L2
Though he never got very near	V
Micu ccedil uacute dashed for shelter	O
But he got it behind the ear	W2
	-
He heard the babies crying	L2
Far far away in his head	P
And the mongrels barking and barking	L2
Then Micu ccedil uacute was dead	P
	-
He had a Taurus revolver	O
And just the clothes he had on	N
With two contos in the pockets	T2
On the hill of Babylon	N
	-
The police and the populace	X2
Heaved a sigh of relief	Y2
But behind the counter his auntie	P
Wiped her eyes in grief	Y2
	-
We have always been respected	P
My shop is honest and clean	L
I loved him but from a baby	P
Micu ccedil uacute was mean	L
	-
We have always been respected	P
His sister has a job	Z2
Both of us gave him money	P
Why did he have to rob	Z2
	-
I raised him to be honest	P
Even here in Babylon slum	J
The customers had another	O
Looking serious and glum	J
	-
But one of them said to another	O
When he got outside the door	J2
He wasn't much of a burglar	O
He got caught six times or more	J2
	-
This morning the little soldiers	Y
are on Babylon hill again	C
Their gun barrels and helmets	T2
Shine in a gentle rain	B
	-
Micu ccedil uacute is buried already	P
They're after another two	A2
But they say they aren't as dangerous	X2
As the poor Micu ccedil uacute	P
	-
	-
On the green hills of Rio	A
There grows a fearful stain	B
The poor who come to Rio	A
And can't go home again	C
	-
There's the hill of Kerosene	L
And the hill of the Skeleton	F
The hill of Astonishment	P
And the hill of Babylon	N