Henry Kendall

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Cooranbean Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH IIJJKKEE LLMMEEEE NNOOIIEE EEPPQQRR

Years fifty and seven to boot have smitten the children of menA
Since sound of a voice or a foot came out of the head of that glenA
The brand of black devil is there an evil wind moaneth aroundB
There is doom there is death in the air a curse groweth up from the groundB
No noise of the axe or the saw in that hollow unholy is heardC
No fall of the hoof or the paw no whirr of the wing of the birdC
But a grey mother down by the sea as wan as the foam on the straitD
Has counted the beads on her knee these forty nine winters and eightD
Whenever an elder is asked a white headed man of the woodsE
Of the terrible mystery masked where the dark everlastingly broodsE
Be sure he will turn to the bay with his back to the glen in the rangeF
And glide like a phantom away with a countenance pallid with changeF
From the line of dead timber that lies supine at the foot of the gladeG
The fierce featured eaglehawk flies afraid as a dove is afraidG
But back in that wilderness dread are a fall and the forks of a fordH
Ah pray and uncover your head and lean like a child on the LordH
-
A sinister fog at the wane at the change of the moon cometh forthI
Like an ominous ghost in the train of a bitter black storm of the northI
At the head of the gully unknown it hangs like a spirit of baleJ
And the noise of a shriek and a groan strikes up in the gusts of the galeJ
In the throat of a feculent pit is the beard of a bloody red sedgeK
And a foam like the foam of a fit sweats out of the lips of the ledgeK
But down in the water of death in the livid dead pool at the baseE
Bow low with inaudible breath beseech with the hands to the faceE
-
A furlong of fetid black fen with gelid green patches of pondL
Lies dumb by the horns of the glen at the gates of the horror beyondL
And those who have looked on it tell of the terrible growths that are thereM
The flowerage fostered by hell the blossoms that startle and scareM
If ever a wandering bird should light on Gehennas like thisE
Be sure that a cry will be heard and the sound of the flat adder s hissE
But hard by the jaws of the bend is a ghastly Thing matted with mossE
Ah Lord be a father a friend for the sake of the Christ of the CrossE
-
Black Tom with the sinews of five that never a hangman could hangN
In the days of the shackle and gyve broke loose from the guards of the gangN
Thereafter for seasons a score this devil prowled under the banO
A mate of red talon and paw a wolf in the shape of a manO
But ringed by ineffable fire in a thunder and wind of the northI
The sword of Omnipotent ire the bolt of high Heaven went forthI
But wan as the sorrowful foam a grey mother waits by the seaE
For the boys that have never come home these fifty four winters and threeE
-
From the folds of the forested hills there are ravelled and roundabout tracksE
Because of the terror that fills the strong handed men of the axeE
Of the workers away in the range there is none that will wait for the nightP
When the storm stricken moon is in change and the sinister fog is in sightP
And later and deep in the dark when the bitter wind whistles aboutQ
There is never a howl or a bark from the dog in the kennel withoutQ
But the white fathers fasten the door and often and often they startR
At a sound like a foot on the floor and a touch like a hand on the heartR

Henry Kendall



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