The Legend Of Cooee Gully Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCBDEFE GHIH JKLK MNON PQRQ SITI RUVU WXWX YZA2Z LB2C2B2 D2E2NE2 F2G2H2G2 I2WF2W J2WK2W PI2L2E M2AJAThe night came down thro Deadman s Gap | A |
Where the ghostly saplings bent | B |
Before a wind that tore the fly | C |
From many a digger s tent | B |
Dark as pitch and the rain rushed past | D |
On a wind that howled again | E |
And we crowded into the only but | F |
That stood on the hillside then | E |
- | |
The strong pine rafters creaked and strained | G |
Til we thought that the roof would go | H |
And we felt the box bark walls bend in | I |
And bulge like calico | H |
- | |
A flood had come from the gorges round | J |
Thro the gully s bed it poured | K |
Down many a deep deserted shaft | L |
The yellow waters roared | K |
- | |
The scene leapt out when the lightning flashed | M |
And shone with a ghastly grey | N |
And the night sprang back to the distant range | O |
Neath a sky as bright as day | N |
- | |
Then the darkness closed like a trap that was sprung | P |
And the night grew black as coals | Q |
And we heard the ceaseless thunder | R |
Of the water down the holes | Q |
- | |
And now and then like a cannon s note | S |
That sounds in the battle din | I |
We heard the louder thunder spring | T |
From a shaft when the sides fell in | I |
- | |
We had gathered close to the broad but fire | R |
To yarn of the by gone years | U |
When a coo ee that came from the flooded grounds | V |
Fell sharp on our startled ears | U |
- | |
We sprang to our feet for well we knew | W |
That in speed lay the only hope | X |
One caught and over his shoulder threw | W |
A coil of yellow rope | X |
- | |
Then blinded oft by the lightning s flash | Y |
Down the steep hillside we sped | Z |
And at times we slipped on the sodden path | A2 |
That ran to the gully s bed | Z |
- | |
And on past many a broken shaft | L |
All reckless of risk we ran | B2 |
For the wind still brought in spiteful gusts | C2 |
The cry of the drowning man | B2 |
- | |
But the cooeying ceased when we reached the place | D2 |
And then ere a man could think | E2 |
We heard the treacherous earth give way | N |
And fall from a shaft s black brink | E2 |
- | |
And deep and wide the rotten side | F2 |
Slipped into the hungry hole | G2 |
And the phosphorus leapt and vanished | H2 |
Like the flight of the stranger s soul | G2 |
- | |
And still in the sound of the rushing rain | I2 |
When the night comes dark and drear | W |
From the pitch black side of that gully wide | F2 |
The coo ee you ll hear and hear | W |
- | |
Coo ee coo e e e low and eerily | J2 |
It whispers afar and drear | W |
And then to the heart like an icy dart | K2 |
It strikes thro the startled ear | W |
- | |
Dreader than wrung from the human tongue | P |
It shrieks o er the sound of the rain | I2 |
And back on the hill when the wind is still | L2 |
It whispers and dies again | E |
- | |
And on thro the night like the voice of a sprite | M2 |
That tells of a dire mishap | A |
It echoes around in the gully s bound | J |
And out thro Deadman s Gap | A |
Henry Lawson
(1)
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