The Song Of Hiawatha - Viii - Hiawatha's Fishing Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABBBACDEBDAFBGAAEBDC HADCAACBIJBAKLDMBNAN EDBEAABBBBBBBCABEBOD PPQEERQQBASETPABUPHQ ARAGRBEDGEVBQQBQQQAB VRUGVQDGAEQVBABBBVVW VEXEBQQBDQBAQBAVBEBA RGAQEVAQAEUBAUABVQER QQRDDRDAAQDDBEAQQABR RBQQQQBBARRBEABQQAQA AAAQQQRVDVQQBVRBQBVQ QEBVQQQQVVQAQBDA| Forth upon the Gitche Gumee | A |
| On the shining Big Sea Water | B |
| With his fishing line of cedar | B |
| Of the twisted bark of cedar | B |
| Forth to catch the sturgeon Nahma | A |
| Mishe Nahma King of Fishes | C |
| In his birch canoe exulting | D |
| All alone went Hiawatha | E |
| Through the clear transparent water | B |
| He could see the fishes swimming | D |
| Far down in the depths below him | A |
| See the yellow perch the Sahwa | F |
| Like a sunbeam in the water | B |
| See the Shawgashee the craw fish | G |
| Like a spider on the bottom | A |
| On the white and sandy bottom | A |
| At the stern sat Hiawatha | E |
| With his fishing line of cedar | B |
| In his plumes the breeze of morning | D |
| Played as in the hemlock branches | C |
| On the bows with tail erected | H |
| Sat the squirrel Adjidaumo | A |
| In his fur the breeze of morning | D |
| Played as in the prairie grasses | C |
| On the white sand of the bottom | A |
| Lay the monster Mishe Nahma | A |
| Lay the sturgeon King of Fishes | C |
| Through his gills he breathed the water | B |
| With his fins he fanned and winnowed | I |
| With his tail he swept the sand floor | J |
| There he lay in all his armor | B |
| On each side a shield to guard him | A |
| Plates of bone upon his forehead | K |
| Down his sides and back and shoulders | L |
| Plates of bone with spines projecting | D |
| Painted was he with his war paints | M |
| Stripes of yellow red and azure | B |
| Spots of brown and spots of sable | N |
| And he lay there on the bottom | A |
| Fanning with his fins of purple | N |
| As above him Hiawatha | E |
| In his birch canoe came sailing | D |
| With his fishing line of cedar | B |
| Take my bait cried Hiawatha | E |
| Down into the depths beneath him | A |
| Take my bait O Sturgeon Nahma | A |
| Come up from below the water | B |
| Let us see which is the stronger | B |
| And he dropped his line of cedar | B |
| Through the clear transparent water | B |
| Waited vainly for an answer | B |
| Long sat waiting for an answer | B |
| And repeating loud and louder | B |
| Take my bait O King of Fishes | C |
| Quiet lay the sturgeon Nahma | A |
| Fanning slowly in the water | B |
| Looking up at Hiawatha | E |
| Listening to his call and clamor | B |
| His unnecessary tumult | O |
| Till he wearied of the shouting | D |
| And he said to the Kenozha | P |
| To the pike the Maskenozha | P |
| Take the bait of this rude fellow | Q |
| Break the line of Hiawatha | E |
| In his fingers Hiawatha | E |
| Felt the loose line jerk and tighten | R |
| As he drew it in it tugged so | Q |
| That the birch canoe stood endwise | Q |
| Like a birch log in the water | B |
| With the squirrel Adjidaumo | A |
| Perched and frisking on the summit | S |
| Full of scorn was Hiawatha | E |
| When he saw the fish rise upward | T |
| Saw the pike the Maskenozha | P |
| Coming nearer nearer to him | A |
| And he shouted through the water | B |
| Esa esa shame upon you | U |
| You are but the pike Kenozha | P |
| You are not the fish I wanted | H |
| You are not the King of Fishes | Q |
| Reeling downward to the bottom | A |
| Sank the pike in great confusion | R |
| And the mighty sturgeon Nahma | A |
| Said to Ugudwash the sun fish | G |
| To the bream with scales of crimson | R |
| Take the bait of this great boaster | B |
| Break the line of Hiawatha | E |
| Slowly upward wavering gleaming | D |
| Rose the Ugudwash the sun fish | G |
| Seized the line of Hiawatha | E |
| Swung with all his weight upon it | V |
| Made a whirlpool in the water | B |
| Whirled the birch canoe in circles | Q |
| Round and round in gurgling eddies | Q |
| Till the circles in the water | B |
| Reached the far off sandy beaches | Q |
| Till the water flags and rushes | Q |
| Nodded on the distant margins | Q |
| But when Hiawatha saw him | A |
| Slowly rising through the water | B |
| Lifting up his disk refulgent | V |
| Loud he shouted in derision | R |
| Esa esa shame upon you | U |
| You are Ugudwash the sun fish | G |
| You are not the fish I wanted | V |
| You are not the King of Fishes | Q |
| Slowly downward wavering gleaming | D |
| Sank the Ugudwash the sun fish | G |
| And again the sturgeon Nahma | A |
| Heard the shout of Hiawatha | E |
| Heard his challenge of defiance | Q |
| The unnecessary tumult | V |
| Ringing far across the water | B |
| From the white sand of the bottom | A |
| Up he rose with angry gesture | B |
| Quivering in each nerve and fibre | B |
| Clashing all his plates of armor | B |
| Gleaming bright with all his war paint | V |
| In his wrath he darted upward | V |
| Flashing leaped into the sunshine | W |
| Opened his great jaws and swallowed | V |
| Both canoe and Hiawatha | E |
| Down into that darksome cavern | X |
| Plunged the headlong Hiawatha | E |
| As a log on some black river | B |
| Shoots and plunges down the rapids | Q |
| Found himself in utter darkness | Q |
| Groped about in helpless wonder | B |
| Till he felt a great heart beating | D |
| Throbbing in that utter darkness | Q |
| And he smote it in his anger | B |
| With his fist the heart of Nahma | A |
| Felt the mighty King of Fishes | Q |
| Shudder through each nerve and fibre | B |
| Heard the water gurgle round him | A |
| As he leaped and staggered through it | V |
| Sick at heart and faint and weary | B |
| Crosswise then did Hiawatha | E |
| Drag his birch canoe for safety | B |
| Lest from out the jaws of Nahma | A |
| In the turmoil and confusion | R |
| Forth he might be hurled and perish | G |
| And the squirrel Adjidaumo | A |
| Frisked and chatted very gayly | Q |
| Toiled and tugged with Hiawatha | E |
| Till the labor was completed | V |
| Then said Hiawatha to him | A |
| O my little friend the squirrel | Q |
| Bravely have you toiled to help me | A |
| Take the thanks of Hiawatha | E |
| And the name which now he gives you | U |
| For hereafter and forever | B |
| Boys shall call you Adjidaumo | A |
| Tail in air the boys shall call you | U |
| And again the sturgeon Nahma | A |
| Gasped and quivered in the water | B |
| Then was still and drifted landward | V |
| Till he grated on the pebbles | Q |
| Till the listening Hiawatha | E |
| Heard him grate upon the margin | R |
| Felt him strand upon the pebbles | Q |
| Knew that Nahma King of Fishes | Q |
| Lay there dead upon the margin | R |
| Then he heard a clang and flapping | D |
| As of many wings assembling | D |
| Heard a screaming and confusion | R |
| As of birds of prey contending | D |
| Saw a gleam of light above him | A |
| Shining through the ribs of Nahma | A |
| Saw the glittering eyes of sea gulls | Q |
| Of Kayoshk the sea gulls peering | D |
| Gazing at him through the opening | D |
| Heard them saying to each other | B |
| 'T is our brother Hiawatha | E |
| And he shouted from below them | A |
| Cried exulting from the caverns | Q |
| O ye sea gulls O my brothers | Q |
| I have slain the sturgeon Nahma | A |
| Make the rifts a little larger | B |
| With your claws the openings widen | R |
| Set me free from this dark prison | R |
| And henceforward and forever | B |
| Men shall speak of your achievements | Q |
| Calling you Kayoshk the sea gulls | Q |
| Yes Kayoshk the Noble Scratchers | Q |
| And the wild and clamorous sea gulls | Q |
| Toiled with beak and claws together | B |
| Made the rifts and openings wider | B |
| In the mighty ribs of Nahma | A |
| And from peril and from prison | R |
| From the body of the sturgeon | R |
| From the peril of the water | B |
| They released my Hiawatha | E |
| He was standing near his wigwam | A |
| On the margin of the water | B |
| And he called to old Nokomis | Q |
| Called and beckoned to Nokomis | Q |
| Pointed to the sturgeon Nahma | A |
| Lying lifeless on the pebbles | Q |
| With the sea gulls feeding on him | A |
| I have slain the Mishe Nahma | A |
| Slain the King of Fishes said he | A |
| Look the sea gulls feed upon him | A |
| Yes my friends Kayoshk the sea gulls | Q |
| Drive them not away Nokomis | Q |
| They have saved me from great peril | Q |
| In the body of the sturgeon | R |
| Wait until their meal is ended | V |
| Till their craws are full with feasting | D |
| Till they homeward fly at sunset | V |
| To their nests among the marshes | Q |
| Then bring all your pots and kettles | Q |
| And make oil for us in Winter | B |
| And she waited till the sun set | V |
| Till the pallid moon the Night sun | R |
| Rose above the tranquil water | B |
| Till Kayoshk the sated sea gulls | Q |
| From their banquet rose with clamor | B |
| And across the fiery sunset | V |
| Winged their way to far off islands | Q |
| To their nests among the rushes | Q |
| To his sleep went Hiawatha | E |
| And Nokomis to her labor | B |
| Toiling patient in the moonlight | V |
| Till the sun and moon changed places | Q |
| Till the sky was red with sunrise | Q |
| And Kayoshk the hungry sea gulls | Q |
| Came back from the reedy islands | Q |
| Clamorous for their morning banquet | V |
| Three whole days and nights alternate | V |
| Old Nokomis and the sea gulls | Q |
| Stripped the oily flesh of Nahma | A |
| Till the waves washed through the rib bones | Q |
| Till the sea gulls came no longer | B |
| And upon the sands lay nothing | D |
| But the skeleton of Nahma | A |
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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The Song Of Hiawatha - Viii - Hiawatha's Fishing is a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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