The Monument Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHAIJKILMCNOPQ RSTUMVWXYZNSDA2DB2MC 2D2AE2F2EE2EME2G2H2E 2E2I2E2D2E2J2DK2 L2DM2F2J2E2N2K2K2O2D 2JD2P2Q2R2DN2S2K2ME2Now can you see the monument It is of wood | A |
built somewhat like a box No Built | B |
like several boxes in descending sizes | C |
one above the other | D |
Each is turned half way round so that | E |
its corners point toward the sides | F |
of the one below and the angles alternate | G |
Then on the topmost cube is set | H |
a sort of fleur de lys of weathered wood | A |
long petals of board pierced with odd holes | I |
four sided stiff ecclesiastical | J |
From it four thin warped poles spring out | K |
slanted like fishing poles or flag poles | I |
and from them jig saw work hangs down | L |
four lines of vaguely whittled ornament | M |
over the edges of the boxes | C |
to the ground | N |
The monument is one third set against | O |
a sea two thirds against a sky | P |
The view is geared | Q |
that is the view's perspective | R |
so low there is no far away | S |
and we are far away within the view | T |
A sea of narrow horizontal boards | U |
lies out behind our lonely monument | M |
its long grains alternating right and left | V |
like floor boards spotted swarming still | W |
and motionless A sky runs parallel | X |
and it is palings coarser than the sea's | Y |
splintery sunlight and long fibred clouds | Z |
Why does the strange sea make no sound | N |
Is it because we're far away | S |
Where are we Are we in Asia Minor | D |
or in Mongolia | A2 |
An ancient promontory | D |
an ancient principality whose artist prince | B2 |
might have wanted to build a monument | M |
to mark a tomb or boundary or make | C2 |
a melancholy or romantic scene of it | D2 |
But that queer sea looks made of wood | A |
half shining like a driftwood sea | E2 |
And the sky looks wooden grained with cloud | F2 |
It's like a stage set it is all so flat | E |
Those clouds are full of glistening splinters | E2 |
What is that | E |
It is the monument | M |
It's piled up boxes | E2 |
outlined with shoddy fret work half fallen off | G2 |
cracked and unpainted It looks old | H2 |
The strong sunlight the wind from the sea | E2 |
all the conditions of its existence | E2 |
may have flaked off the paint if ever it was painted | I2 |
and made it homelier than it was | E2 |
Why did you bring me here to see it | D2 |
A temple of crates in cramped and crated scenery | E2 |
what can it prove | J2 |
I am tired of breathing this eroded air | D |
this dryness in which the monument is cracking | K2 |
- | |
It is an artifact | L2 |
of wood Wood holds together better | D |
than sea or cloud or and could by itself | M2 |
much better than real sea or sand or cloud | F2 |
It chose that way to grow and not to move | J2 |
The monument's an object yet those decorations | E2 |
carelessly nailed looking like nothing at all | N2 |
give it away as having life and wishing | K2 |
wanting to be a monument to cherish something | K2 |
The crudest scroll work says commemorate | O2 |
while once each day the light goes around it | D2 |
like a prowling animal | J |
or the rain falls on it or the wind blows into it | D2 |
It may be solid may be hollow | P2 |
The bones of the artist prince may be inside | Q2 |
or far away on even drier soil | R2 |
But roughly but adequately it can shelter | D |
what is within which after all | N2 |
cannot have been intended to be seen | S2 |
It is the beginning of a painting | K2 |
a piece of sculpture or poem or monument | M |
and all of wood Watch it closely | E2 |
Elizabeth Bishop
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
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