The Amber Whale Poem Rhyme Scheme

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WE were down in the Indian Ocean after sperm and three years out	A
The last six months in the tropics and looking in vain for a spout	A
Five men up on the royal yards weary of straining their sight	B
And every day like its brother just morning and noon and night	B
Nothing to break the sameness water and wind and sun	C
Motionless gentle and blazing never a change in one	C
Every day like its brother when the noonday eight bells came	D
'Twas like yesterday and we seemed to know that to morrow would be the same	D
The foremast hands had a lazy time there was never a thing to do	E
The ship was painted tarred down and scraped and the mates had nothing new	E
We'd worked at sinnet and ratline till there wasn't a yarn to use	F
And all we could do was watch and pray for a sperm whale's spout or news	G
It was whaler's luck of the vilest sort and though many a volunteer	H
Spent his watch below on the look out never a whale came near	H
At least of the kind we wanted there were lots of whales of a sort	I
Killers and finbacks and such like as if they enjoyed the sport	I
Of seeing a whale ship idle but we never lowered a boat	J
For less than a blackfish there's no oil in a killer's or finback's coat	J
There was rich reward for the look out men tobacco for even a sail	K
And a barrel of oil for the lucky dog who'd be first to 'raise' a whale	K
The crew was a mixture from every land and many a tongue they spoke	L
And when they sat in the fo'castle enjoying an evening smoke	L
There were tales told youngster would make you stare stories of countless shoals	M
Of devil fish in the Pacific and right whales away at the Poles	M
There was one of these fo'castle yarns that we always loved to hear	N
Kanaka and Maori and Yankee all lent an eager ear	N
To that strange old tale that was always new the wonderful treasure tale	K
Of an old Down Eastern harpooneer who had struck an Amber Whale	K
Ay that was a tale worth hearing lad if 'twas true we couldn't say	O
Or if 'twas a yarn old Mat had spun to while the time away	O
	-
'It's just fifteen years ago ' said Mat 'since I shipped as harpooneer	N
On board a bark in New Bedford and came cruising somewhere near	N
To this whaling ground we're cruising now but whales were plenty then	P
And not like now when we scarce get oil to pay for the ship and men	P
There were none of these oil wells running then at least what shore folk term	Q
An oil well in Pennsylvania but sulphur bottom and sperm	Q
Were plenty as frogs in a mud hole and all of 'em big whales too	E
One hundred barrels for sperm whales and for sulphur bottom two	E
You couldn't pick out a small one the littlest calf or cow	R
Had a sight more oil than the big bull whales we think so much of now	R
We were more to the east off Java Straits a little below the mouth	S
A hundred and five to the east'ard and nine degrees to the south	S
And that was as good a whaling ground for middling sized handy whales	T
As any in all the ocean and 'twas always white with sails	T
From Scotland and Hull and New England for the whales were thick as frogs	U
And 'twas little trouble to kill 'em then for they lay as quiet as logs	V
And every night we'd go visiting the other whale ships 'round	W
Or p'r'aps we'd strike on a Dutchman calmed off the Straits and bound	W
To Singapore or Batavia with plenty of schnapps to sell	X
For a few whale's teeth or a gallon of oil and the latest news to tell	X
And in every ship of that whaling fleet was one wonderful story told	Y
How an Amber Whale had been seen that year that was worth a mint of gold	Y
And one man mate of a Scotchman said he'd seen away to the west	Z
A big school of sperm and one whale's spout was twice as high as the rest	Z
And we knew that that was the Amber Whale for we'd often heard before	N
That his spout was twice as thick as the rest and a hundred feet high or more	N
And often when the look out cried 'He blows ' the very hail	K
Thrilled every heart with the greed of gold for we thought of the Amber Whale	K
	-
'But never a sight of his spout we saw till the season there went round	W
And the ships ran down to the south'ard to another whaling ground	W
We stayed to the last off Java and then we ran to the west	Z
To get our recruits at Mauritius and give the crew a rest	Z
Five days we ran in the trade winds and the boys were beginning to talk	A2
Of their time ashore and whether they'd have a donkey ride or a walk	A2
And whether they'd spend their money in wine bananas or pearls	B2
Or drive to the sugar plantations to dance with the Creole girls	B2
But they soon got something to talk about Five days we ran west sou' west	Z
But the sixth day's log book entry was a change from all the rest	Z
For that was the day the mast head men made every face turn pale	K
With the cry that we all had dreamt about 'He Blows The Amber Whale '	-
And every man was motionless and every speaker's lip	C2
Just stopped as it was with the word half said there wasn't a Sound in the ship	C2
Till the Captain hailed the masthead 'Whereaway is the whale you see '	-
And the cry came down again 'He blows about four points on our lee	D2
And three miles off sir there he blows he's going to leeward fast '	-
And then we sprang to the rigging and saw the great whale at last	E2
	-
'Ah shipmates that was a sight to see the water was smooth as a lake	F2
And there was the monster rolling with a school of whales in his wake	F2
They looked like pilot fish round a shark as if they were keeping guard	G2
And shipmates the spout of that Amber Whale was high as a sky sail yard	G2
There was never a ship's crew worked so quick as our whalemen worked that day	O
When the captain shouted ' Swing the boats and be ready to lower away '	-
Then 'A pull on the weather braces men let her head fall off three points '	-
And off she swung with a quarter breeze straining the old ship's joints	H2
The men came down from the mastheads and the boat's crews stood on the rail	K
Stowing the lines and irons and fixing paddles and sail	K
And when all was ready we leant on the boats and looked at the Amber's spout	A
That went up like a monster fountain with a sort of a rumbling shout	A
Like a thousand railroad engines puffing away their smoke	L
He was just like a frigate's hull capsized and the swaying water broke	L
Against the sides of the great stiff whale he was steering south by west	Z
For the Cape no doubt for a whale can shape a course as well as the best	Z
We soon got close as was right to go for the school might hear a hail	K
Or see the bark and that was the last of our Bank of England Whale	K
'Let her luff ' said the Old Man gently 'Now lower away my boys	I2
And pull for a mile then paddle and mind that you make no noise '	-
	-
'A minute more and the boats were down and out from the hull of the bark	J2
They shot with a nervous sweep of the oars like dolphins away from a shark	J2
Each officer stood in the stern and watched as he held the steering oar	N
And the crews bent down to their pulling as they never pulled before	N
	-
'Our Mate was as thorough a whaleman as I ever met afloat	J
And I was his harpooneer that day and sat in the bow of the boat	J
His eyes were set on the whales ahead and he spoke in a low deep tone	K2
And told the men to be steady and cool and the whale was all our own	K2
And steady and cool they proved to be you could read it in every face	L2
And in every straining muscle that they meant to win that race	L2
'Bend to it boys for a few strokes more bend to it steady and long	M2
Now in with your oars and paddles out all together and strong '	-
Then we turned and sat on the gunwale with our faces to the bow	R
And the whales were right ahead no more than four ships' lengths off now	R
There were five of 'em hundred barrelers like guards round the Amber Whale	K
And to strike him we'd have to risk being stove by crossing a sweeping tail	K
But the prize and the risk were equal 'Mat ' now whispers the Mate	N2

John Boyle O'reilly

The Amber Whale Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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