Winona Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABACADAE FGH ICIGIJKLMANCOLPQAAAR AAASAAALAGTATCACKCAA AAUAUVAAAAWAWA X YG FZYA2V ICIAB2AB2EC2CC2AAAAC D2AD2AE2OE2F2G2CG2H2 GG2GC I2 J2 GWGG2GK2AOAL2AG2AA YFA M2N2M2G2O2P2O2AQ2RQ2 R2D2G2D2XS2AS2G2 GAGG2T2AT2L2G2AG2U2A XAAAN2AV2P2GP2G2W2G2 X2U2AAAL G2Y2 Z2AZ2AARAG2AG2AAAG2U G2ULZ2RZ2A3URUAQ2N2W AOCLL2P2U2P2AA2L2F2A R V A2CA2G2B3G2B3WE2G2E2 CA2AJ2C3GG2D3G2 E3 A AG2AC3O2AG2G2OG2C3AG 2AF3C3G3AH3A C G2A V O2AO2CACAI3G2C3G2C3C 3AC3CJ3I3J3C3 K3CK3RL3C3G2AG2C C3CC3CAC3ACC3G2C3GC3 C AGC3XC3CG2AC3CC3C3 M3 AC3AAACACALAC3GLC3C3 C3AC3AC3G2C3C3C3AN3C 3N3AO3CO3A P3AP3AD2C3 CAG2L AC3G2 C3G2G2 RC3 A C3AC3AC3A Q3CG2AC3AC3AC3AC3G2 R3 C3C3C3AC3CC3AC3G2C3A C3AC3G2ACARC3S3C3AG2 RG2T3C3T3C3AQ3AQ3G2G 2G2G2G AAACAAG2CG2C3ACAAG2A G2CAAAACACC3AT3AAAAC 3AG2AG2AG2T3C3GC3G2A G2AAC3AC3T3G2AG2RC CL C3AC3LAC3AACT3CACAC3 G2C3T3G2LAAC3C3C3AC3 C CA G2

When the meadow lark trilled o'er the leas	A
and the oriole piped in the maples	B
From my hammock all under the trees	A
by the sweet scented field of red clover	C
I harked to the hum of the bees	A
as they gathered the mead of the blossoms	D
And caught from their low melodies	A
the air of the song of Winona	E
	-
	-
In pronouncing Dakota words give a the sound of	F
ah e the sound of a i the sound of e	G
and u the sound of oo Sound ee as in English	H
	-
	-
	-
Two hundred white Winters and more	I
have fled from the face of the Summer	C
Since here on the oak shaded shore	I
of the dark winding swift Mississippi	G
Where his foaming floods tumble and roar	I
o'er the falls and the white rolling rapids	J
In the fair fabled center of Earth	K
sat the Indian town of Ka tha ga	L
Far rolling away to the north and the south	M
lay the emerald prairies	A
All dotted with woodlands and lakes	N
and above them the blue bent of ether	C
And here where the dark river breaks into spray	O
and the roar of the Ha Ha	L
Where gathered the bison skin tees F	P
of the chief tawny tribe of Dakotas	Q
For here in the blast and the breeze	A
flew the flag of the chief of Isantees	A
Up raised on the stem of a lance	A
the feathery flag of the eagle	R
And here to the feast and the dance	A
from the prairies remote and the forests	A
Oft gathered the out lying bands	A
and honored the gods of the nation	S
On the islands and murmuring strands	A
they danced to the god of the waters	A
Unktehee who dwelt in the caves	A
deep under the flood of the Ha Ha	L
And high o'er the eddies and waves	A
hung their offerings of furs and tobacco G	G
And here to the Master of life	T
Anpe tu wee god of the heavens	A
Chief warrior and maiden and wife	T
burned the sacred green sprigs of the cedar	C
And here to the Searcher of hearts	A
fierce Ta ku Skan skan the avenger	C
Who dwells in the uppermost parts of the earth	K
and the blue starry ether	C
Ever watching with all seeing eyes	A
the deeds of the wives and the warriors	A
As an osprey afar in the skies	A
sees the fish as they swim in the waters	A
Oft spread they the bison tongue feast	U
and singing preferred their petitions	A
Till the Day Spirit rose in the East	U
in the red rosy robes of the morning	V
To sail o'er the sea of the skies	A
to his lodge in the land of the shadows	A
Where the black winged tornadoes H arise	A
rushing loud from the mouths of their caverns	A
And here with a shudder they heard	W
flying far from his tee in the mountains	A
Wa kin yan the huge Thunder Bird	W
with the arrows of fire in his talons	A
	-
F Tee teepee the Dakota name for tent or wigwam	X
	-
G See Hennepin's Description of Louisiana by Shea pp and	Y
Parkman's Discovery p and Carver's Travels p	G
	-
H The Dakotas like the ancient Romans and Greeks think the home of	F
the winds is in the caverns of the mountains and their great	Z
Thunder bird resembles in many respects the Jupiter of the Romans and	Y
the Zeus of the Greeks The resemblance of the Dakota mythology to that	A2
of the older Greeks and Romans is striking	V
	-
Two hundred white Winters and more	I
have fled from the face of the Summer	C
Since here by the cataract's roar	I
in the moon of the red blooming lilies	A
In the tee of Ta te psin I was born	B2
Winona wild rose of the prairies	A
Like the summer sun peeping at morn	B2
o'er the hills was the face of Winona	E
And here she grew up like a queen	C2
a romping and lily lipped laughter	C
And danced on the undulant green	C2
and played in the frolicsome waters	A
Where the foaming tide tumbles and whirls	A
o'er the murmuring rocks in the rapids	A
And whiter than foam were the pearls	A
that gleamed in the midst of her laughter	C
Long and dark was her flowing hair flung	D2
like the robe of the night to the breezes	A
And gay as the robin she sung	D2
or the gold breasted lark of the meadows	A
Like the wings of the wind were her feet	E2
and as sure as the feet of Ta to ka J	O
And oft like an antelope fleet	E2
o'er the hills and the prairies she bounded	F2
Lightly laughing in sport as she ran	G2
and looking back over her shoulder	C
At the fleet footed maiden or man	G2
that vainly her flying feet followed	H2
The belle of the village was she	G
and the pride of the aged Ta te psin	G2
Like a sunbeam she lighted his tee	G
and gladdened the heart of her father	C
	-
I Tate wind psin wild rice wild rice wind	I2
	-
J mountain antelope	J2
	-
In the golden hued Wazu pe wee	G
the moon when the wild rice is gathered	W
When the leaves on the tall sugar tree	G
are as red as the breast of the robin	G2
And the red oaks that border the lea	G
are aflame with the fire of the sunset	K2
From the wide waving fields of wild rice	A
from the meadows of Psin ta wak pa dan K	O
Where the geese and the mallards rejoice	A
and grow fat on the bountiful harvest	L2
Came the hunters with saddles of moose	A
and the flesh of the bear and the bison	G2
And the women in birch bark canoes	A
well laden with rice from the meadows	A
	-
K Little Rice River It bears the name of Rice Creek to day and	Y
empties into the Mississippi from the east a few miles above	F
Minneapolis	A
	-
With the tall dusky hunters behold	M2
came a marvelous man or a spirit	N2
White faced and so wrinkled and old	M2
and clad in the robe of the raven	G2
Unsteady his steps were and slow	O2
and he walked with a staff in his right hand	P2
And white as the first falling snow	O2
were the thin locks that lay on his shoulders	A
Like rime covered moss hung his beard	Q2
flowing down from his face to his girdle	R
And wan was his aspect and weird	Q2
and often he chanted and mumbled	R2
In a strange and mysterious tongue	D2
as he bent o'er his book in devotion	G2
Or lifted his dim eyes and sung	D2
in a low voice the solemn Te Deum	X
Or Latin or Hebrew or Greek	S2
all the same were his words to the warriors	A
All the same to the maids and the meek	S2
wide wondering eyed hazel brown children	G2
	-
Father Rene Menard L it was he	G
long lost to his Jesuit brothers	A
Sent forth by an holy decree	G
to carry the Cross to the heathen	G2
In his old age abandoned to die	T2
in the swamps by his timid companions	A
He prayed to the Virgin on high	T2
and she led him forth from the forest	L2
For angels she sent him as men	G2
in the forms of the tawny Dakotas	A
And they led his feet from the fen	G2
from the slough of despond and the desert	U2
Half dead in a dismal morass	A
as they followed the red deer they found him	X
In the midst of the mire and the grass	A
and mumbling Te Deum laudamus	A
Unktomee Ho muttered the braves	A
for they deemed him the black Spider Spirit	N2
That dwells in the drearisome caves	A
and walks on the marshes at midnight	V2
With a flickering torch in his hand	P2
to decoy to his den the unwary	G
His tongue could they not understand	P2
but his torn hands all shriveled with famine	G2
He stretched to the hunters and said	W2
He feedeth his chosen with manna	G2
And ye are the angels of God	X2
sent to save me from death in the desert	U2
His famished and woe begone face	A
and his tones touched the hearts of the hunters	A
They fed the poor father apace	A
and they led him away to Ka tha ga	L
	-
L See the account of Father Menard his mission and disappearance in	G2
the wilderness Neill's Hist Minnesota pp inc	Y2
	-
There little by little he learned	Z2
the tongue of the tawny Dakotas	A
And the heart of the good father yearned	Z2
to lead them away from their idols	A
Their giants and dread Thunder birds	A
their worship of stones and the devil	R
Wakan de M they answered his words	A
for he read from his book in the Latin	G2
Lest the Nazarene's holy commands	A
by his tongue should be marred in translation	G2
And oft with his beads in his hands	A
or the cross and the crucified Jesus	A
He knelt by himself on the sands	A
and his dim eyes uplifted to heaven	G2
But the braves bade him look to the East	U
to the silvery lodge of Han nan na N	G2
And to dance with the chiefs at the feast	U
at the feast of the Giant Heyo ka	L
They frowned when the good father spurned	Z2
the flesh of the dog in the kettle	R
And laughed when his fingers were burned	Z2
in the hot boiling pot of the giant	A3
The Black robe they called the poor priest	U
from the hue of his robe and his girdle	R
And never a game or a feast	U
but the father must grace with his presence	A
His prayer book the hunters revered	Q2
they deemed it a marvelous spirit	N2
It spoke and the white father heard	W
it interpreted visions and omens	A
And often they bade him to pray	O
this marvelous spirit to answer	C
And tell where the sly Chippewa	L
might be ambushed and slain in his forest	L2
For Menard was the first in the land	P2
proclaiming like John in the desert	U2
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand	P2
repent ye and turn from your idols	A
The first of the brave brotherhood that	A2
threading the fens and the forest	L2
Stood afar by the turbulent flood	F2
at the falls of the Father of Waters	A
	-
M It is wonderful	R
	-
N The morning	V
	-
In the lodge of the Stranger O he sat	A2
awaiting the crown of a martyr	C
His sad face compassion begat	A2
in the heart of the dark eyed Winona	G2
Oft she came to the teepee and spoke	B3
she brought him the tongue of the bison	G2
Sweet nuts from the hazel and oak	B3
and flesh of the fawn and the mallard	W
Soft hanpa P she made for his feet	E2
and leggins of velvety fawn skin	G2
A blanket of beaver complete	E2
and a hood of the hide of the otter	C
And oft at his feet on the mat	A2
deftly braiding the flags and the rushes	A
Till the sun sought his teepee	J2
she sat enchanted with what he related	C3
Of the white winged ships on the sea	G
and the teepees far over the ocean	G2
Of the love and the sweet charity of the Christ	D3
and the beautiful Virgin	G2
	-
O A lodge set apart for guests of the village	E3
	-
P Moccasins	A
	-
She listened like one in a trance	A
when he spoke of the brave bearded Frenchmen	G2
From the green sun lit valleys of France	A
to the wild Hochelaga Q transplanted	C3
Oft trailing the deserts of snow	O2
in the heart of the dense Huron forests	A
Or steering the dauntless canoe	G2
through the waves of the fresh water ocean	G2
Yea stronger and braver are they	O
said the aged Menard to Winona	G2
Than the head chief tall Wazi kute	C3
but their words are as soft as a maiden's	A
Their eyes are the eyes of the swan	G2
but their hearts are the hearts of the eagles	A
And the terrible Masa Wakan R	F3
ever walks by their side like a spirit	C3
Like a Thunder bird roaring in wrath	G3
flinging fire from his terrible talons	A
He sends to their enemies death	H3
in the flash of the fatal Wakandee S	A
	-
Q The Ottawa name for the region of the St Lawrence River	C
	-
R Mysterious metal or metal having a spirit in it This is the	G2
common name applied by the Dakotas to all firearms	A
	-
S Lightning	V
	-
The Autumn was past and the snow	O2
lay drifted and deep on the prairies	A
From his teepee of ice came the foe	O2
came the storm breathing god of the winter	C
Then roared in the groves on the plains	A
on the ice covered lakes and the river	C
The blasts of the fierce hurricanes	A
blown abroad from the breast of Waziya	I3
The bear cuddled down in his den	G2
and the elk fled away to the forest	C3
The pheasant and gray prairie hen	G2
made their beds in the heart of the snow drift	C3
The bison herds huddled and stood	C3
in the hollows and under the hill sides	A
Or rooted the snow for their food	C3
in the lee of the bluffs and the timber	C
And the mad winds that howled from the north	J3
from the ice covered seas of Waziya	I3
Chased the gray wolf and silver fox forth	J3
to their dens in the hills of the forest	C3
	-
Poor Father Menard he was ill	K3
in his breast burned the fire of a fever	C
All in vain was the magical skill	K3
of Wicasta Wakan with his rattle	R
Into soft child like slumber he fell	L3
and awoke in the land of the blessed	C3
To the holy applause of Well done	G2
and the harps in the hands of the angels	A
Long he carried the cross and he won	G2
the coveted crown of a martyr	C
	-
In the land of the heathen he died	C3
meekly following the voice of his Master	C
One mourner alone by his side	C3
Ta te psin's compassionate daughter	C
She wailed the dead father with tears	A
and his bones by her kindred she buried	C3
Then winter followed winter The years	A
sprinkled frost on the head of her father	C
And three weary winters she dreamed	C3
of the fearless and fair bearded Frenchmen	G2
At midnight their swift paddles gleamed	C3
on the breast of the broad Mississippi	G
And the eyes of the brave strangers beamed	C3
on the maid in the midst of her slumber	C
	-
She lacked not admirers	A
the light of the lover oft burned in her teepee	G
At her couch in the midst of the night	C3
but she never extinguished the flambeau	X
The son of Chief Wazi kute	C3
a fearless and eagle plumed warrior	C
Long sighed for Winona	G2
and he was the pride of the band of Isantees	A
Three times in the night at her bed	C3
had the brave held the torch of the lover	C
And thrice had she covered her head	C3
and rejected the handsome Tamdoka T	C3
	-
T Tah mdo kah literally the buck deer	M3
	-
'Twas Summer The merry voiced birds	A
trilled and warbled in woodland and meadow	C3
And abroad on the prairies the herds	A
cropped the grass in the land of the lilies	A
And sweet was the odor of rose	A
wide wafted from hillside and heather	C
In the leaf shaded lap of repose	A
lay the bright blue eyed babes of the summer	C
And low was the murmur of brooks	A
and low was the laugh of the Ha Ha	L
And asleep in the eddies and nooks	A
lay the broods of maga and the mallard	C3
'Twas the moon of Wasunpa	G
The band lay at rest in the tees at Ka tha ga	L
And abroad o'er the beautiful land	C3
walked the spirits of Peace and of Plenty	C3
Twin sisters with bountiful hand	C3
wide scattering wild rice and the lilies	A
An pe tu wee walked in the west	C3
to his lodge in the far away mountains	A
And the war eagle flew to her nest	C3
in the oak on the Isle of the Spirit U	G2
And now at the end of the day	C3
by the shore of the Beautiful Island V	C3
A score of fair maidens and gay	C3
made joy in the midst of the waters	A
Half robed in their dark flowing hair	N3
and limbed like the fair Aphrodite	C3
They played in the waters and there	N3
they dived and they swam like the beavers	A
Loud laughing like loons on the lake	O3
when the moon is a round shield of silver	C
And the songs of the whippowils wake	O3
on the shore in the midst of the maples	A
	-
But hark on the river a song	P3
strange voices commingled in chorus	A
On the current a boat swept along	P3
with DuLuth and his hardy companions	A
To the stroke of their paddles they sung	D2
and this the refrain that they chanted	C3
	-
Dans mon chemin j'ai rencontre	C
Deux cavaliers bien montes	A
Lon lon laridon daine	G2
Lon lon laridon da	L
	-
Deux cavaliers bien montes	A
L'un a cheval et l'autre a pied	C3
Lon lon laridon daine	G2
Lon lon laridon da W	-
	-
U The Dakotas say that for many years in olden times war eagles made	C3
their nests in oak trees on Spirit island Wanagi wita just below the	G2
Falls till frightened away by the advent of white men	G2
	-
V The Dakotas called Nicollet Island Wi ta Waste the Beautiful	R
Island	C3
	-
W A part of one of the favorite songs of the French voyageurs	A
	-
Like the red dappled deer in the glade	C3
alarmed by the footsteps of hunters	A
Discovered disordered dismayed	C3
the nude nymphs fled forth from the waters	A
And scampered away to the shade	C3
and peered from the screen of the lindens	A
	-
A bold and adventuresome man was DuLuth	Q3
and a dauntless in danger	C
And straight to Kathaga he ran	G2
and boldly advanced to the warriors	A
Now gathering a cloud on the strand	C3
and gazing amazed on the strangers	A
And straightway he offered his hand	C3
unto Wazi kute the Itancan X	A
To the Lodge of the Stranger were led	C3
DuLuth and his hardy companions	A
Robes of beaver and bison were spread	C3
and the Peace pipe was smoked with the Frenchman	G2
	-
X Head chief	R3
	-
There was dancing and feasting at night	C3
and joy at the presents he lavished	C3
All the maidens were wild with delight	C3
with the flaming red robes and the ribbons	A
With the beads and the trinkets untold	C3
and the fair bearded face of the giver	C
And glad were they all to behold	C3
the friends from the Land of the Sunrise	A
But one stood apart from the rest	C3
the queenly and silent Winona	G2
Intently regarding the guest	C3
hardly heeding the robes and the ribbons	A
Whom the White Chief beholding admired	C3
and straightway he spread on her shoulders	A
A lily red robe and attired	C3
with necklet and ribbons the maiden	G2
The red lilies bloomed in her face	A
and her glad eyes gave thanks to the giver	C
And forth from her teepee apace	A
she brought him the robe and the missal	R
Of the father poor Rene Menard	C3
and related the tale of the Black Robe	S3
She spoke of the sacred regard	C3
he inspired in the hearts of Dakotas	A
That she buried his bones with her kin	G2
in the mound by the Cave of the Council	R
That she treasured and wrapt in the skin	G2
of the red deer his robe and his prayer book	T3
Till his brothers should come from the East	C3
from the land of the far Hochelaga	T3
To smoke with the braves at the feast	C3
on the shores of the Loud laughing Waters	A
For the 'Black Robe' spake much of his youth	Q3
and his friends in the Land of the Sunrise	A
It was then as a dream now in truth	Q3
I behold them and not in a vision	G2
But more spake her blushes I ween	G2
and her eyes full of language unspoken	G2
As she turned with the grace of a queen	G2
and carried her gifts to the teepee	G
	-
Far away from his beautiful France	A
from his home in the city of Lyons	A
A noble youth full of romance	A
with a Norman heart big with adventure	C
In the new world a wanderer by chance	A
DuLuth sought the wild Huron forests	A
But afar by the vale of the Rhone	G2
the winding and musical river	C
And the vine covered hills of the Saone	G2
the heart of the wanderer lingered	C3
'Mid the vineyards and mulberry trees	A
and the fair fields of corn and of clover	C
That rippled and waved in the breeze	A
while the honey bees hummed in the blossoms	A
For there where th' impetuous Rhone	G2
leaping down from the Switzerland mountains	A
And the silver lipped soft flowing Saone	G2
meeting kiss and commingle together	C
Down winding by vineyards and leas	A
by the orchards of fig trees and olives	A
To the island gemmed sapphire blue seas	A
of the glorious Greeks and the Romans	A
Aye there on the vine covered shore	C
'mid the mulberry trees and the olives	A
Dwelt his blue eyed and beautiful Flore	C
with her hair like a wheat field at harvest	C3
All rippled and tossed by the breeze	A
and her cheeks like the glow of the morning	T3
Far away o'er the emerald seas	A
as the sun lifts his brow from the billows	A
Or the red clover fields when the bees	A
singing sip the sweet cups of the blossoms	A
Wherever he wandered	C3
alone in the heart of the wild Huron forests	A
Or cruising the rivers unknown	G2
to the land of the Crees or Dakotas	A
His heart lingered still on the Rhone	G2
'mid the mulberry trees and the vineyards	A
Fast fettered and bound by the zone	G2
that girdled the robes of his darling	T3
Till the red Harvest Moon he remained	C3
in the vale of the swift Mississippi	G
The esteem of the warriors he gained	C3
and the love of the dark eyed Winona	G2
He joined in the sports and the chase	A
with the hunters he followed the bison	G2
And swift were his feet in the race	A
when the red elk they ran on the prairies	A
At the Game of the Plum stones he played	C3
and he won from the skillfulest players	A
A feast to Wa'tanka he made	C3
and he danced at the feast of Heyoka	T3
With the flash and the roar of his gun	G2
he astonished the fearless Dakotas	A
They called it the Maza Wakan	G2
the mighty mysterious metal	R
'Tis a brother they said of the fire	C
in the talons of dreadful Wakinyan '	-
When he flaps his huge wings in his ire	C
and shoots his red shafts at Unktehee	L
	-
The Itancan tall Wazi kute	C3
appointed a day for the races	A
From the red stake that stood by his tee	C3
on the southerly side of the Ha ha	L
O'er the crest of the hills and the dunes	A
and the billowy breadth of the prairie	C3
To a stake at the Lake of the Loons	A
a league and return was the distance	A
They gathered from near and afar	C
to the races and dancing and feasting	T3
Five hundred tall warriors were there	C
from Kapoza and far off Keoza	A
Remnica Y too furnished a share	C
of the legions that thronged to the races	A
And a bountiful feast was prepared	C3
by the diligent hands of the women	G2
And gaily the multitudes fared	C3
in the generous tees of Kathaga	T3
The chief of the mystical clan	G2
appointed a feast to Unktehee	L
The mystic Wacipee Wakan Z	A
at the end of the day and the races	A
A band of sworn brothers are they	C3
and the secrets of each one are sacred	C3
And death to the lips that betray	C3
is the doom of the swarthy avengers	A
And the son of tall Wazi kute	C3
was the chief of the mystical order	C
	-
Y Pronounced Ray mne chah The village of the Mountains situate where	C
Red Wing now stands	A
	-
Z Sacred Dance The Medicine dance See description infra	G2

Hanford Lennox Gordon

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