Lines On His Twenty-third Birthday Poem Rhyme Scheme

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LAST evening's huge lax clouds of turbid white	A
Grew dark and louring burthened with the rain	B
Which that long wind monotonous all night	A
Swept clashing loud through Dreamland's still domain	B
	-
Until my spirit in fatigue's despite	A
Was driven to weary wakefulness again	C
With such wild dirge and ceaseless streaming tears	D
Died out the last of all my ill used years	E
	-
The morn his risen pure and fresh and keen	F
Its perfect vault of bright blue heaven spreads bare	G
Above the earth's wide laughter twinkling green	F
The sun long climbing up with lurid glare	G
Athwart the storm rack's rent and hurrying screen	F
Leapt forth at dawn to breathe this stainless air	G
The strong west wind still streams on full and high	H
Inspiring fresher life through earth and sky	H
	-
Yon hazeless river flashes silver signs	I
Of where it flows how delicate and clear	J
The distant hills curve far their grey blue lines	I
Steadfast amidst the rushing atmosphere	J
With every blade distinct the green grass shines	I
Untouched by frost those old trees dark or sere	J
Swaying and soughing in the lifeful dawn	K
Have every leaf and twig distinctly drawn	K
	-
This day my own particular year has birth	L
The general year is very old to day	M
Yet with what healthful life o'er heaven and earth	L
The death bound monarch holdeth steadfast sway	M
Not too austere for much of hearty mirth	L
And energetic pleasure nor so grey	M
But that he still can deck himself with flowers	N
Would that like his could be my dying hours	N
	-
Still dew pearled fuchsias shine like pendent gems	O
While some lie purely on the deep dark mould	P
Beneath their glossy leaves and ruddy stems	O
The thick chrysanthemums range white and cold	P
Of all its wealth of marvellous anadems	O
That gleamed amidst their fruits of orange gold	P
Glowing red hearted in the Autumn sun	Q
The passion flower has still for me kept one	Q
I pace the garden in this genial morn	R
And meditate the dirge of my dead year	J
With even less of grief than sharp self scorn	R
The retrospect in truth brings little cheer	J
As if of one long tired who stares forlorn	R
Across flat marshland barren gloomy drear	J
Where fields nor home nor church his vision greet	S
Which he has toiled through with unsteady feet	S
	-
He turns before him as behind all round	T
The pathless waste outstretches flat and bare	J
From sullen pools amidst the dark heath ground	T
Frogs jar their croakings through the murky air	J
Which up that vault of solid sky stone bound	T
Heaves huge dense glooms to shut on his despair	J
Let him crawl on as he has crawled all day	M
Till Night comes down upon his homeless way	M
	-
My golden morning hours which should have brought	U
Strength wisdom faith and love or hope of all	V
Have sunk and dribbled while I heeded not	W
Into the slush of sloth beyond recall	V
O nerveless hands brain of aimless thought	U
O slow dim eyes that never marked their fall	V
Absorbed in dreams both waking and asleep	X
Our golden hours for ever lost now weep	X
	-
All lost for ever and the hours to come	Y
Poor refuse but our sole remaining wealth	Z
So much the likelier thence to share doom	A2
The brain unused to mark insidious stealth	Z
Short sighted eyes long filled with mist and gloom	A2
Lax hands uncustomed to the grasp of health	Z
That lost the fight in their best youth shall these	O
Victorious prove in languor and disease	O
	-
Oh for the flushed excitement of keen strife	B2
For mountains gulfs and torrents in my way	M
With peril anguish fear and strugglings rife	B2
For friends and foes for love and hate in fray	M
And not this lone base flat of torpid life	B2
I fret 'neath gnat stings an ignoble prey	M
While others with a sword hilt in their grasp	C2
Have warm rich blood to feed their latest gasp	C2
Wrathful and dangerous restless free profound	T
With fair green islands shining o'er its verge	D2
The Sea of Life there heaves and roars around	T
To pierce its depths to throb against its surge	D2
Breasting to gain the Happy Isles if drowned	T
The loser pays he fought his game no dirge	D2
But to be whelmed in torpor at the last	E2
As one with this dead crag which holds me fast	E2
	-
Flushed grapes full charged with life's delirious wine	F2
Brush my wan temples hanging thick about	G2
Chained fast I cannot reach them while I pine	F2
To press their very inmost rapture out	G2
Flooding with fire these dust dry lips of mine	F2
Better wild drunkenness than hectic drought	G2
And torture breeds new tortures in the dread	H2
That ere they fall my power to drink be dead	H2
	-
The prisoner loses other years than yearn	I2
Within the lifeless dungeon crusht and pent	J2
Late freedom frees dead ashes from their urn	I2
His torture has become his element	K2
This Bride of Life for whom I waiting burn	I2
May grow a withered hag ere she relent	J2
Herself refused then or our worn out eld	J2
In bridal chimings have its funeral kneeled	J2
	-
O pure West wind strong life breath of the day	J2
Inspire my wasted heart with strength and hope	L2
Sweep thou its grievous doubts and fears away	J2
Who swept far scattering down the eastern slope	L2
The brooding rain clouds massed in dense array	J2
Till this green earth shone laughing to the cope	L2
Of this pure heaven whose naked form austere	J
Yet genial glows with sunshine warm and clear	J
	-
I hope I feel that I can yet break free	J
From this accursed cage wherein I pine	F2
There comes a vision of the sounding sea	J
The all sustaining all intombing brine	F2
Through want and peril wretchedness and glee	J
Wrestling with lives more coarse and strong than mine	F2
I yet may woo its love and dare its strife	B2
By self dependence earning careless life	B2
	-
And so attaining strength The crazy ship	M2
Frigate or bumboat slaver mission ark	N2
Shall surely in the first squall heel and dip	M2
The strong may hope to sail its voyage and mark	N2
What of the ends means issues of its trip	M2
Knows holy vessel or Brazilian barque	N2
Through storm and calm it does its best to float	J2
For what He knows who steers and rules the boat	J2
	-
So much more strength so much more life I say	J2
So much more love and thought more soul and sense I	H
We pare our members bit by bit away	J2
Because they're damning us with foul offence	J2
Cowards be strong and force them to obey	J2
Is virtue but a eunuch's continence	J2
Napoleon ev'n seems nobler than such saint	J2
As eighteen centuries have learned to paint	J2
	-
Thus Hope is born pale birth of grim Despair	J
Whether the Father Shall his child devour	J
Or this poor Babe maturing strong and fair	J
Shall dispossess the parent of his power	J
I know not yet I think that I could dare	J
A death stern struggle with the fiercest hour	J
Would foolish Wisdom's whirls of dreary thought	J2
But leave my doubt vexed spirit undistraught	J2
	-
Meanwhile then let me wait and hope and learn	I2
To curb with galling steel and ruthless hand	J2
These strong and passionate impulses that burn	I2
To sweep me from my post of self command	J2
Into the battle raging thick and stern	I2
Into the desert's freedom vast and grand	J2
That horseman proves full strength firm skill indeed	J2
Who holdeth statue calm his savage steed	J2

James Thomson

Lines On His Twenty-third Birthday Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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