Willie's Question Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A B CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL MNMN A O CMCM DPDP QRQR B STST UNUN VDVD WXWY ZA2ZA2 MLML B MB2MB2 B CDCD O C2D2C2D2 E2FE2F F2G2F2G2 AOAO A B UH2UH2 O I2WI2W J2K2J2L2 FFFF B FNFN O FAFA PWPW FPFP M2N2M2N2 B2O2B2O2 A B NPNP B2P2B2Q2 O FR2FR2 FNFN B R2S2R2S2 O WAWA B L2FL2F O S2T2S2U2 B DNDN O K2FL2F O WF B WF O FNFN B DFDF R2LR2L B V2W2V2W2 O WFWF R2LR2L A B X2R2VR2 O DV2DV2 B FFFF FWFW I2A O I2A FY2 B FY2 Z2PZ2P O H2WW2W FDFD FWFW FFFF AN2AN2 V2AV2AI | A |
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Willie speaks | B |
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Is it wrong the wish to be great | C |
For I do wish it so | D |
I have asked already my sister Kate | C |
She says she does not know | D |
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Yestereve at the gate I stood | E |
Watching the sun in the west | F |
When I saw him look so grand and good | E |
It swelled up in my breast | F |
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Next from the rising moon | G |
It stole like a silver dart | H |
In the night when the wind began his tune | G |
It woke with a sudden start | H |
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This morning a trumpet blast | I |
Made all the cottage quake | J |
It came so sudden and shook so fast | I |
It blew me wide awake | J |
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It told me I must make haste | K |
And some great glory win | L |
For every day was running to waste | K |
And at once I must begin | L |
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I want to be great and strong | M |
I want to begin to day | N |
But if you think it very wrong | M |
I will send the wish away | N |
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II | A |
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The Father answers | O |
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Wrong to wish to be great | C |
No Willie it is not wrong | M |
The child who stands at the high closed gate | C |
Must wish to be tall and strong | M |
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If you did not wish to grow | D |
I should be a sorry man | P |
I should think my boy was dull and slow | D |
Nor worthy of his clan | P |
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You are bound to be great my boy | Q |
Wish and get up and do | R |
Were you content to be little my joy | Q |
Would be little enough in you | R |
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Willie speaks | B |
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Papa papa I'm so glad | S |
That what I wish is right | T |
I will not lose a chance to be had | S |
I'll begin this very night | T |
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I will work so hard at school | U |
I will waste no time in play | N |
At my fingers' ends I'll have every rule | U |
For knowledge is power they say | N |
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I would be a king and reign | V |
But I can't be that and so | D |
Field marshal I'll be I think and gain | V |
Sharp battles and sieges slow | D |
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I shall gallop and shout and call | W |
Waving my shining sword | X |
Artillery cavalry infantry all | W |
Hear and obey my word | Y |
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Or admiral I will be | Z |
Wherever the salt wave runs | A2 |
Sailing fighting over the sea | Z |
With flashing and roaring guns | A2 |
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I will make myself hardy and strong | M |
I will never never give in | L |
I am so glad it is not wrong | M |
At once I will begin | L |
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The Father speaks | B |
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Fighting and shining along | M |
All for the show of the thing | B2 |
Any puppet will mimic the grand and strong | M |
If you pull the proper string | B2 |
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Willie speaks | B |
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But indeed I want to be great | C |
I should despise mere show | D |
The thing I want is the glory state | C |
Above the rest you know | D |
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The Father answers | O |
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The harder you run that race | C2 |
The farther you tread that track | D2 |
The greatness you fancy before your face | C2 |
Is the farther behind your back | D2 |
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To be up in the heavens afar | E2 |
Miles above all the rest | F |
Would make a star not the greatest star | E2 |
Only the dreariest | F |
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That book on the highest shelf | F2 |
Is not the greatest book | G2 |
If you would be great it must be in yourself | F2 |
Neither by place nor look | G2 |
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The Highest is not high | A |
By being higher than others | O |
To greatness you come not a step more nigh | A |
By getting above your brothers | O |
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III | A |
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Willie speaks | B |
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I meant the boys at school | U |
I did not mean my brother | H2 |
Somebody first is there the rule | U |
It must be me or another | H2 |
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The Father answers | O |
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Oh Willie it's all the same | I2 |
They are your brothers all | W |
For when you say Hallowed be thy name | I2 |
Whose Father is it you call | W |
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Could you pray for such rule to him | J2 |
Do you think that he would hear | K2 |
Must he favour one in a greedy whim | J2 |
Where all are his children dear | L2 |
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It is right to get up and do | F |
But why outstrip the rest | F |
Why should one of the many be one of the few | F |
Why should you think to be best | F |
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Willie speaks | B |
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Then how am I to be great | F |
I know no other way | N |
It would be folly to sit and wait | F |
I must up and do you say | N |
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The Father answers | O |
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I do not want you to wait | F |
For few before they die | A |
Have got so far as begin to be great | F |
The lesson is so high | A |
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I will tell you the only plan | P |
To climb and not to fall | W |
He who would rise and be greater than | P |
He is must be servant of all | W |
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Turn it each way in your mind | F |
Try every other plan | P |
You may think yourself great but at length you'll find | F |
You are not even a man | P |
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Climb to the top of the trees | M2 |
Climb to the top of the hill | N2 |
Get up on the crown of the sky if you please | M2 |
You'll be a small creature still | N2 |
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Be admiral poet or king | B2 |
Let praises fill both your ears | O2 |
Your soul will be but a windmill thing | B2 |
Blown round by its hopes and fears | O2 |
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IV | A |
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Willie speaks | B |
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Then put me in the way | N |
For you papa are a man | P |
What thing shall I do this very day | N |
Only be sure I can | P |
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I want to know I am willing | B2 |
Let me at least have a chance | P2 |
Shall I give the monkey boy my shilling | B2 |
I want to serve at once | Q2 |
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The Father answers | O |
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Give all your shillings you might | F |
And hurt your brothers the more | R2 |
He only can serve his fellows aright | F |
Who goes in at the little door | R2 |
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We must do the thing we must | F |
Before the thing we may | N |
We are unfit for any trust | F |
Till we can and do obey | N |
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Willie speaks | B |
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I will try more and more | R2 |
I have nothing now to ask | S2 |
Obedience I know is the little door | R2 |
Now set me some hard task | S2 |
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The Father answers | O |
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No Willie the father of all | W |
Teacher and master high | A |
Has set your task beyond recall | W |
Nothing can set it by | A |
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Willie speaks | B |
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What is it father dear | L2 |
That he would have me do | F |
I'd ask himself but he's not near | L2 |
And so I must ask you | F |
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The Father answers | O |
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Me 'tis no use to ask | S2 |
I too am one of his boys | T2 |
But he tells each boy his own plain task | S2 |
Listen and hear his voice | U2 |
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Willie speaks | B |
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Father I'm listening so | D |
To hear him if I may | N |
His voice must either be very low | D |
Or very far away | N |
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The Father answers | O |
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It is neither hard to hear | K2 |
Nor hard to understand | F |
It is very low but very near | L2 |
A still small strong command | F |
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Willie answers | O |
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I do not hear it at all | W |
I am only hearing you | F |
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The Father speaks | B |
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Think is there nothing great or small | W |
You ought to go and do | F |
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Willie answers | O |
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Let me think I ought to feed | F |
My rabbits I went away | N |
In such a hurry this morning Indeed | F |
They've not had enough to day | N |
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The Father speaks | B |
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That is his whisper low | D |
That is his very word | F |
You had only to stop and listen and so | D |
Very plainly you heard | F |
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That duty's the little door | R2 |
You must open it and go in | L |
There is nothing else to do before | R2 |
There is nowhere else to begin | L |
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Willie speaks | B |
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But that's so easily done | V2 |
It's such a trifling affair | W2 |
So nearly over as soon as begun | V2 |
For that he can hardly care | W2 |
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The Father answers | O |
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You are turning from his call | W |
If you let that duty wait | F |
You would not think any duty small | W |
If you yourself were great | F |
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The nearest is at life's core | R2 |
With the first you all begin | L |
What matter how little the little door | R2 |
If it only let you in | L |
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V | A |
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Willie speaks | B |
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Papa I am come again | X2 |
It is now three months and more | R2 |
That I've tried to do the thing that was plain | V |
And I feel as small as before | R2 |
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The Father answers | O |
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Your honour comes too slow | D |
How much then have you done | V2 |
One foot on a mole heap would you crow | D |
As if you had reached the sun | V2 |
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Willie speaks | B |
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But I cannot help a doubt | F |
Whether this way be the true | F |
The more I do to work it out | F |
The more there comes to do | F |
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And yet were all done and past | F |
I should feel just as small | W |
For when I had tried to the very last | F |
'Twas my duty after all | W |
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It is only much the same | I2 |
As not being liar or thief | A |
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The Father answers | O |
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One who tried it found even with shame | I2 |
That of sinners he was the chief | A |
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My boy I am glad indeed | F |
You have been finding the truth | Y2 |
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Willie speaks | B |
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But where's the good I shall never speed | F |
Be one whit greater in sooth | Y2 |
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If duty itself must fail | Z2 |
And that be the only plan | P |
How shall my scarce begun duty prevail | Z2 |
To make me a mighty man | P |
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The Father answers | O |
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Ah Willie what if it were | H2 |
Quite another way to fall | W |
What if the greatness itself lie there | W2 |
In knowing that you are small | W |
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In seeing the good so good | F |
That you feel poor weak and low | D |
And hungrily long for it as for food | F |
With an endless need to grow | D |
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The man who was lord of fate | F |
Born in an ox's stall | W |
Was great because he was much too great | F |
To care about greatness at all | W |
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Ever and only he sought | F |
The will of his Father good | F |
Never of what was high he thought | F |
But of what his Father would | F |
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You long to be great you try | A |
You feel yourself smaller still | N2 |
In the name of God let ambition die | A |
Let him make you what he will | N2 |
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Who does the truth is one | V2 |
With the living Truth above | A |
Be God's obedient little son | V2 |
Let ambition die in love | A |
George Macdonald
(1)
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