The Monument Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHAIJKILMCNOPQ RSTUMVWXYZNSDA2DB2MC 2D2AE2F2EE2EME2G2H2E 2E2I2E2D2E2J2DK2 L2DM2F2J2E2N2K2K2O2D 2JD2P2Q2R2DN2S2K2ME2

Now can you see the monument It is of woodA
built somewhat like a box No BuiltB
like several boxes in descending sizesC
one above the otherD
Each is turned half way round so thatE
its corners point toward the sidesF
of the one below and the angles alternateG
Then on the topmost cube is setH
a sort of fleur de lys of weathered woodA
long petals of board pierced with odd holesI
four sided stiff ecclesiasticalJ
From it four thin warped poles spring outK
slanted like fishing poles or flag polesI
and from them jig saw work hangs downL
four lines of vaguely whittled ornamentM
over the edges of the boxesC
to the groundN
The monument is one third set againstO
a sea two thirds against a skyP
The view is gearedQ
that is the view's perspectiveR
so low there is no far awayS
and we are far away within the viewT
A sea of narrow horizontal boardsU
lies out behind our lonely monumentM
its long grains alternating right and leftV
like floor boards spotted swarming stillW
and motionless A sky runs parallelX
and it is palings coarser than the sea'sY
splintery sunlight and long fibred cloudsZ
Why does the strange sea make no soundN
Is it because we're far awayS
Where are we Are we in Asia MinorD
or in MongoliaA2
An ancient promontoryD
an ancient principality whose artist princeB2
might have wanted to build a monumentM
to mark a tomb or boundary or makeC2
a melancholy or romantic scene of itD2
But that queer sea looks made of woodA
half shining like a driftwood seaE2
And the sky looks wooden grained with cloudF2
It's like a stage set it is all so flatE
Those clouds are full of glistening splintersE2
What is thatE
It is the monumentM
It's piled up boxesE2
outlined with shoddy fret work half fallen offG2
cracked and unpainted It looks oldH2
The strong sunlight the wind from the seaE2
all the conditions of its existenceE2
may have flaked off the paint if ever it was paintedI2
and made it homelier than it wasE2
Why did you bring me here to see itD2
A temple of crates in cramped and crated sceneryE2
what can it proveJ2
I am tired of breathing this eroded airD
this dryness in which the monument is crackingK2
-
It is an artifactL2
of wood Wood holds together betterD
than sea or cloud or and could by itselfM2
much better than real sea or sand or cloudF2
It chose that way to grow and not to moveJ2
The monument's an object yet those decorationsE2
carelessly nailed looking like nothing at allN2
give it away as having life and wishingK2
wanting to be a monument to cherish somethingK2
The crudest scroll work says commemorateO2
while once each day the light goes around itD2
like a prowling animalJ
or the rain falls on it or the wind blows into itD2
It may be solid may be hollowP2
The bones of the artist prince may be insideQ2
or far away on even drier soilR2
But roughly but adequately it can shelterD
what is within which after allN2
cannot have been intended to be seenS2
It is the beginning of a paintingK2
a piece of sculpture or poem or monumentM
and all of wood Watch it closelyE2

Elizabeth Bishop



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