To A Fallen Elm Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABABBCCDBDEFEF EGHGEIEJBKKBKB LLMNOPQR SGSGEGEGTUTTVV TCTCWCWWXYXYPP ZA2ZZTTTTOld Elm that murmured in our chimney top | A |
The sweetest anthem autumn ever made | B |
And into mellow whispering calms would drop | A |
When showers fell on thy many coloured shade | B |
And when dark tempests mimic thunder made | B |
While darkness came as it would strangle light | C |
With the black tempest of a winter night | C |
That rocked thee like a cradle to thy root | D |
How did I love to hear the winds upbraid | B |
Thy strength without while all within was mute | D |
It seasoned comfort to our hearts desire | E |
We felt thy kind protection like a friend | F |
And pitched our chairs up closer to the fire | E |
Enjoying comforts that was was never penned | F |
- | |
Old favourite tree thoust seen times changes lower | E |
But change till now did never come to thee | G |
For time beheld thee as his sacred dower | H |
And nature claimed thee her domestic tree | G |
Storms came and shook thee with aliving power | E |
Yet stedfast to thy home thy roots hath been | I |
Summers of thirst parched round thy homely bower | E |
Till earth grew iron still thy leaves was green | J |
The children sought thee in thy summer shade | B |
And made their play house rings of sticks and stone | K |
The mavis sang and felt himself alone | K |
While in they leaves his early nest was made | B |
And I did feel his happiness mine own | K |
Nought heeding that our friendship was betrayed | B |
- | |
Friend not inanimate tho stocks and stones | L |
There are and many cloathed in flesh and bones | L |
Thou ownd a lnaguage by which hearts are stirred | M |
Deeper than by the attribute of words | N |
Thine spoke a feeling known in every tongue | O |
Language of pity and the force of wrong | P |
What cant assumes what hypocrites may dare | Q |
Speaks home to truth and shows it what they are | R |
- | |
I see a picture that thy fate displays | S |
And learn a lesson from thy destiny | G |
Self interest saw thee stand in freedoms ways | S |
So thy old shadow must a tyrant be | G |
Thoust heard the knave abusing those in power | E |
Bawl freedom loud and then oppress the free | G |
Thoust sheltered hypocrites in many an hour | E |
That when in power would never shelter thee | G |
Thoust heard the knave supply his canting powers | T |
With wrongs illusions when he wanted friends | U |
That bawled for shelter when he lived in showers | T |
And when clouds vanished made thy shade ammends | T |
With axe at root he felled thee to the ground | V |
And barked of freedom O I hate that sound | V |
- | |
It grows the cant terms of enslaving tools | T |
To wrong another by the name of right | C |
It grows a liscence with oer bearing fools | T |
To cheat plain honesty by force of might | C |
Thus came enclosure ruin was her guide | W |
But freedoms clapping hands enjoyed the sight | C |
Tho comforts cottage soon was thrust aside | W |
And workhouse prisons raised upon the scite | W |
Een natures dwelling far away from men | X |
The common heath became the spoilers prey | Y |
The rabbit had not where to make his den | X |
And labours only cow was drove away | Y |
No matter wrong was right and right was wrong | P |
And freedoms brawl was sanction to the song | P |
- | |
Such was thy ruin music making Elm | Z |
The rights of freedom was to injure thine | A2 |
As thou wert served so would they overwhelm | Z |
In freedoms name the little so would they over whelm | Z |
And these are knaves that brawl for better laws | T |
And cant of tyranny in stronger powers | T |
Who glut their vile unsatiated maws | T |
And freedoms birthright from the weak devours | T |
John Clare
(2)
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