The White Man's Foot Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABCDEFAGGHIJDBKALJJ BFMNFOBPAPENAQRSPTUA VBWPADBWXPYDKJAZJFA2 ZAGB2FB2DC2DB2FTFAB2 D2E2IFAIBBB2F2BFAB2G 2AH2I2ADB2EIIJ2I2K2J 2LLC2J2B2AAB2B2J2B2F B2B2DAL2DB2DB2B2B2B2 M2B2C2N2TC2L2FB2J2DF DTB2B2O2C2B2B2DB2TTC 2J2B2TTTTTDTTFTJ2C2D DFDTP2TTTJ2FFTTTC2J2 J2DTFTTJ2P2DFJ2TJ2O2 C2C2TC2TC2TTQ2TJ2FFT J2TTP2DDTTTTTFDJ2TTIn his lodge beside a river | A |
Close beside a frozen river | A |
Sat an old man sad and lonely | B |
White his hair was as a snow drift | C |
Dull and low his fire was burning | D |
And the old man shook and trembled | E |
Folded in his Waubewyon | F |
In his tattered white skin wrapper | A |
Hearing nothing but the tempest | G |
As it roared along the forest | G |
Seeing nothing but the snow storm | H |
As it whirled and hissed and drifted | I |
All the coals were white with ashes | J |
And the fire was slowly dying | D |
As a young man walking lightly | B |
At the open doorway entered | K |
Red with blood of youth his cheeks were | A |
Soft his eyes as stars In Spring time | L |
Bound his forehead was with grasses | J |
Bound and plumed with scented grasses | J |
On his lips a smile of beauty | B |
Filling all the lodge with sunshine | F |
In his hand a bunch of blossoms | M |
Filling all the lodge with sweetness | N |
Ah my son exclaimed the old man | F |
Happy are my eyes to see you | O |
Sit here on the mat beside me | B |
Sit here by the dying embers | P |
Let us pass the night together | A |
Tell me of your strange adventures | P |
Of the lands where you have travelled | E |
I will tell you of my prowess | N |
Of my many deeds of wonder | A |
From his pouch he drew his peace pipe | Q |
Very old and strangely fashioned | R |
Made of red stone was the pipe head | S |
And the stem a reed with feathers | P |
Filled the pipe with bark of willow | T |
Placed a burning coal upon it | U |
Gave it to his guest the stranger | A |
And began to speak in this wise | V |
When I blow my breath about me | B |
When I breathe upon the landscape | W |
Motionless are all the rivers | P |
Hard as stone becomes the water | A |
And the young man answered smiling | D |
When I blow my breath about me | B |
When I breathe upon the landscape | W |
Flowers spring up o'er all the meadows | X |
Singing onward rush the rivers | P |
When I shake my hoary tresses | Y |
Said the old man darkly frowning | D |
All the land with snow is covered | K |
All the leaves from all the branches | J |
Fall and fade and die and wither | A |
For I breathe and lo they are not | Z |
From the waters and the marshes | J |
Rise the wild goose and the heron | F |
Fly away to distant regions | A2 |
For I speak and lo they are not | Z |
And where'er my footsteps wander | A |
All the wild beasts of the forest | G |
Hide themselves in holes and caverns | B2 |
And the earth becomes as flintstone | F |
When I shake my flowing ringlets | B2 |
Said the young man softly laughing | D |
Showers of rain fall warm and welcome | C2 |
Plants lift up their heads rejoicing | D |
Back Into their lakes and marshes | B2 |
Come the wild goose and the heron | F |
Homeward shoots the arrowy swallow | T |
Sing the bluebird and the robin | F |
And where'er my footsteps wander | A |
All the meadows wave with blossoms | B2 |
All the woodlands ring with music | D2 |
All the trees are dark with foliage | E2 |
While they spake the night departed | I |
From the distant realms of Wabun | F |
From his shining lodge of silver | A |
Like a warrior robed and painted | I |
Came the sun and said Behold me | B |
Gheezis the great sun behold me | B |
Then the old man's tongue was speechless | B2 |
And the air grew warm and pleasant | F2 |
And upon the wigwam sweetly | B |
Sang the bluebird and the robin | F |
And the stream began to murmur | A |
And a scent of growing grasses | B2 |
Through the lodge was gently wafted | G2 |
And Segwun the youthful stranger | A |
More distinctly in the daylight | H2 |
Saw the icy face before him | I2 |
It was Peboan the Winter | A |
From his eyes the tears were flowing | D |
As from melting lakes the streamlets | B2 |
And his body shrunk and dwindled | E |
As the shouting sun ascended | I |
Till into the air it faded | I |
Till into the ground it vanished | J2 |
And the young man saw before him | I2 |
On the hearth stone of the wigwam | K2 |
Where the fire had smoked and smouldered | J2 |
Saw the earliest flower of Spring time | L |
Saw the Beauty of the Spring time | L |
Saw the Miskodeed in blossom | C2 |
Thus it was that in the North land | J2 |
After that unheard of coldness | B2 |
That intolerable Winter | A |
Came the Spring with all its splendor | A |
All its birds and all its blossoms | B2 |
All its flowers and leaves and grasses | B2 |
Sailing on the wind to northward | J2 |
Flying in great flocks like arrows | B2 |
Like huge arrows shot through heaven | F |
Passed the swan the Mahnahbezee | B2 |
Speaking almost as a man speaks | B2 |
And in long lines waving bending | D |
Like a bow string snapped asunder | A |
Came the white goose Waw be wawa | L2 |
And in pairs or singly flying | D |
Mahng the loon with clangorous pinions | B2 |
The blue heron the Shuh shuh gah | D |
And the grouse the Mushkodasa | B2 |
In the thickets and the meadows | B2 |
Piped the bluebird the Owaissa | B2 |
On the summit of the lodges | B2 |
Sang the robin the Opechee | M2 |
In the covert of the pine trees | B2 |
Cooed the pigeon the Omemee | C2 |
And the sorrowing Hiawatha | N2 |
Speechless in his infinite sorrow | T |
Heard their voices calling to him | C2 |
Went forth from his gloomy doorway | L2 |
Stood and gazed into the heaven | F |
Gazed upon the earth and waters | B2 |
From his wanderings far to eastward | J2 |
From the regions of the morning | D |
From the shining land of Wabun | F |
Homeward now returned Iagoo | D |
The great traveller the great boaster | T |
Full of new and strange adventures | B2 |
Marvels many and many wonders | B2 |
And the people of the village | O2 |
Listened to him as he told them | C2 |
Of his marvellous adventures | B2 |
Laughing answered him in this wise | B2 |
Ugh it is indeed Iagoo | D |
No one else beholds such wonders | B2 |
He had seen he said a water | T |
Bigger than the Big Sea Water | T |
Broader than the Gitche Gumee | C2 |
Bitter so that none could drink it | J2 |
At each other looked the warriors | B2 |
Looked the women at each other | T |
Smiled and said It cannot be so | T |
Kaw they said it cannot be so | T |
O'er it said he o'er this water | T |
Came a great canoe with pinions | T |
A canoe with wings came flying | D |
Bigger than a grove of pine trees | T |
Taller than the tallest tree tops | T |
And the old men and the women | F |
Looked and tittered at each other | T |
Kaw they said we don't believe it | J2 |
From its mouth he said to greet him | C2 |
Came Waywassimo the lightning | D |
Came the thunder Annemeekee | D |
And the warriors and the women | F |
Laughed aloud at poor Iagoo | D |
Kaw they said what tales you tell us | T |
In it said he came a people | P2 |
In the great canoe with pinions | T |
Came he said a hundred warriors | T |
Painted white were all their faces | T |
And with hair their chins were covered | J2 |
And the warriors and the women | F |
Laughed and shouted in derision | F |
Like the ravens on the tree tops | T |
Like the crows upon the hemlocks | T |
Kaw they said what lies you tell us | T |
Do not think that we believe them | C2 |
Only Hiawatha laughed not | J2 |
But he gravely spake and answered | J2 |
To their jeering and their jesting | D |
True is all Iagoo tells us | T |
I have seen it in a vision | F |
Seen the great canoe with pinions | T |
Seen the people with white faces | T |
Seen the coming of this bearded | J2 |
People of the wooden vessel | P2 |
From the regions of the morning | D |
From the shining land of Wabun | F |
Gitche Manito the Mighty | J2 |
The Great Spirit the Creator | T |
Sends them hither on his errand | J2 |
Sends them to us with his message | O2 |
Wheresoe'er they move before them | C2 |
Swarms the stinging fly the Ahmo | C2 |
Swarms the bee the honey maker | T |
Wheresoe'er they tread beneath them | C2 |
Springs a flower unknown among us | T |
Springs the White man's Foot in blossom | C2 |
Let us welcome then the strangers | T |
Hail them as our friends and brothers | T |
And the heart's right hand of friendship | Q2 |
Give them when they come to see us | T |
Gitche Manito the Mighty | J2 |
Said this to me in my vision | F |
I beheld too in that vision | F |
All the secrets of the future | T |
Of the distant days that shall be | J2 |
I beheld the westward marches | T |
Of the unknown crowded nations | T |
All the land was full of people | P2 |
Restless struggling toiling striving | D |
Speaking many tongues yet feeling | D |
But one heart beat in their bosoms | T |
In the woodlands rang their axes | T |
Smoked their towns in all the valleys | T |
Over all the lakes and rivers | T |
Rushed their great canoes of thunder | T |
Then a darker drearier vision | F |
Passed before me vague and cloud like | D |
I beheld our nation scattered | J2 |
All forgetful of my counsels | T |
Weakened warri | T |
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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