The Ballad Of St. Barbara Poem Rhyme Scheme

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Gilbert Keith Chesterton

The Ballad Of St. Barbara Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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	A
	A
	-
	-
	-
	-
	-
	-
St Barbara is the patron saint of gunners and those in danger	B
of sudden death	C
	-
When the long grey lines came flooding upon Paris in the plain	D
We stood and drank of the last free air we never could taste again	E
They had led us back from the lost battle to halt we knew not where	F
And stilled us and our gaping guns were dumb with our despair	F
The grey tribes flowed for ever from the infinite lifeless lands	G
And a Norman to a Breton spoke his chin upon his hands	G
	-
'There was an end to Ilium and an end came to Rome	H
And a man plays on a painted stage in the land that he calls home	H
Arch after arch of triumph but floor beyond falling floor	I
That lead to a low door at last and beyond that is no door '	-
	-
And the Breton to the Norman spoke like a small child spoke he	J
And his sea blue eyes were empty as his home beside the sea	J
'There are more windows in one house than there are eyes to see	J
There are more doors in a man's house but God has hid the key	J
Ruin is a builder of windows her legend witnesseth	C
Barbara the saint of gunners and a stay in sudden death '	-
	-
It seemed the wheel of the world stood still an instant in its turning	K
More than the kings of the earth that turned with the turning of Valmy mill	L
While trickled the idle tale and the sea blue eyes were burning	K
Still as the heart of a whirlwind the heart of the world stood still	L
	-
'Barbara the beautiful	M
Had praise of tongue and pen	E
Her hair was like a summer night	N
Dark and desired of men	E
	-
Her feet like birds from far away	O
That linger and light in doubt	P
And her face was like a window	Q
Where a man's first love looked out	P
	-
Her sire was master of many slaves	R
A hard man of his hands	G
They built a tower about her	B
In the desolate golden lands	G
	-
Sealed as the tyrants sealed their tombs	S
Planned with an ancient plan	T
And set two windows in the tower	B
Like the two eyes of a man '	-
	-
Our guns were set towards the foe we had no word for firing	K
Grey in the gateway of St Gond the Guard of the tyrant shone	U
Dark with the fate of a falling star retiring and retiring	K
The Breton line went backward and the Breton tale went on	V
	-
'Her father had sailed across the sea	J
For the harbour of Africa	W
When all the slaves took up their tools	X
For the bidding of Barbara	W
	-
She smote the bare wall with her hand	Y
And bade them smite again	E
She poured them wealth of wine and meat	Z
To stay them in their pain	D
	-
And cried through the lifted thunder	B
Of thronging hammer and hod	Z
'Throw open the third window	Z
In the third name of God '	-
	-
Then the hearts failed and the tools fell	A2
And far towards the foam	H
Men saw a shadow on the sands	G
And her father coming home '	-
	-
Speak low and low along the line the whispered word is flying	K
Before the touch before the time we may not loose a breath	C
Their guns must mash us to the mire and there be no replying	K
Till the hand is raised to fling us for the final dice to death	C
	-
''There were two windows in your tower	B
Barbara Barbara	W
For all between the sun and moon	B2
In the lands of Africa	W
	-
Hath a man three eyes Barbara	W
A bird three wings	C2
That you have riven roof and wall	D2
To look upon vain things '	-
	-
Her voice was like a wandering thing	K
That falters yet is free	J
Whose soul has drunk in a distant land	Z
Of the rivers of liberty	J
	-
'There are more wings than the wind knows	E2
Or eyes that see the sun	F2
In the light of the lost window	Z
And the wind of the doors undone	F2
	-
For out of the first lattice	G2
Are the red lands that break	H2
And out of the second lattice	G2
Sea like a green snake	H2
	-
But out of the third lattice	G2
Under low eaves like wings	C2
Is a new corner of the sky	I2
And the other side of things '	-
	-
It opened in the inmost place an instant beyond uttering	K
A casement and a chasm and a thunder of doors undone	F2
A seraph's strong wing shaken out the shock of its unshuttering	K
That split the shattered sunlight from a light beyond the sun	F2
	-
'Then he drew sword and drave her	B
Where the judges sat and said	Z
'Caesar sits above the gods	J2
Barbara the maid	Z
	-
Caesar hath made a treaty	J
With the moon and with the sun	F2
All the gods that men can praise	K2
Praise him every one	F2
	-
There is peace with the anointed	Z
Of the scarlet oils of Bel	A2
With the Fish God where the whirlpool	L2
Is a winding stair to hell	A2
	-
With the pathless pyramids of slime	M2
Where the mitred negro lifts	N2
To his black cherub in the cloud	Z
Abominable gifts	N2
	-
With the leprous silver cities	O2
Where the dumb priests dance and nod	Z
But not with the three windows	E2
And the last name of God ''	-
	-
They are firing we are falling and the red skies rend and shiver us	G2
Barbara Barbara we may not loose a breath	C
Be at the bursting doors of doom and in the dark deliver us	G2
Who loosen the last window on the sun of sudden death	C
	-
'Barbara the beautiful	M
Stood up as queen set free	J
Whose mouth is set to a terrible cup	P2
And the trumpet of liberty	J
	-
'I have looked forth from a window	Z
That no man now shall bar	Q2
Caesar's toppling battle towers	R2
Shall never stretch so far	Q2
	-
The slaves are dancing in their chains	S2
The child laughs at the rod	Z
Because of the bird of the three wings	C2
And the third face of God '	-
	-
The sword upon his shoulder	B
Shifted and shone and fell	A2
And Barbara lay very small	D2
And crumpled like a shell '	-
	-
What wall upon what hinges turned stands open like a door	I
Too simple for the sight of faith too huge for human eyes	T2
What light upon what ancient way shines to a far off floor	I
The line of the lost land of France or the plains of Paradise	U2
	-
'Caesar smiled above the gods	J2
His lip of stone was curled	Z
His iron armies wound like chains	S2
Round and round the world	Z
	-
And the strong slayer of his own	U
That cut down flesh for grass	V2
Smiled too and went to his own tower	B
Like a walking tower of brass	V2
	-
And the songs ceased and the slaves were dumb	W2
And far towards the foam	H
Men saw a shadow on the sands	G
And her father coming home	H
	-
Blood of his blood upon the sword	Z
Stood red but never dry	I2
He wiped it slowly till the blade	Z
Was blue as the blue sky	I2
	-
But the blue sky split with a thunder crack	K
Spat down a blinding brand	Z
And all of him lay black and flat	Z
As his shadow on the sand '	-
	-
The touch and the tornado all our guns give tongue together	B
St Barbara for the gunnery and God defend the right	Z
They are stopped and gapped and battered as we blast away the weather	B
Building window upon window to our lady of the light	Z
	-
For the light is come on Liberty her foes are falling falling	K
They are reeling they are running as the shameful years have run	F2
She is risen for all the humble she has heard the conquered calling	K
St Barbara of the Gunners with her hand upon the gun	F2
	-
They are burst asunder in the midst that eat of their own flatteries	G
Whose lip is curled to order as its barbered hair is curled	Z
Blast of the beauty of sudden death St Barbara of the batteries	G
That blow the new white window in the wall of all the world	Z
	-
For the hand is raised behind us and the bolt smites hard	Z
Through the rending of the doorways through the death gap of the Guard	Z
For the cry of the Three Colours is in Conde and beyond	Z
And the Guard is flung for carrion in the graveyard of St Gond	Z
Through Mondemont and out of it through Morin marsh and on	V
With earthquake of salutation the impossible thing is gone	X2
Gaul charioted and charging great Gaul upon a gun	F2
Tip toe on all her thousand years and trumpeting to the sun	F2
As day returns as death returns swung backwards and swung home	H
Back on the barbarous reign returns the battering ram of Rome	H
While that the east held hard and hot like pincers in a forge	Y2
Came like the west wind roaring up the cannon of St George	Y2
When the hunt is up and racing over stream and swamp and tarn	F2
And their batteries black with battle hold the bridgehe	J