The Minister-s Daughter Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCB DEFC ACAC GCDC HIJI KCGC JCK ALML ABC CNGN FOC DCP CACA CAFA PQAQ GRDR DSTS UAKA CACA PCQC

In the minister's morning sermonA
He had told of the primal fallB
And how thenceforth the wrath of GodC
Rested on each and allB
-
And how of His will and pleasureD
All souls save a chosen fewE
Were doomed to the quenchless burningF
And held in the way theretoC
-
Yet never by faith's unreasonA
A saintlier soul was triedC
And never the harsh old lessonA
A tenderer heart beliedC
-
And after the painful serviceG
On that pleasant Sabbath dayC
He walked with his little daughterD
Through the apple bloom of MayC
-
Sweet in the fresh green meadowsH
Sparrow and blackbird sungI
Above him their tinted petalsJ
The blossoming orchards hungI
-
Around on the wonderful gloryK
The minister looked and smiledC
'How good is the Lord who gives usG
These gifts from His hand my childC
-
'Behold in the bloom of applesJ
And the violets in the swardC
A hint of the old lost beautyK
Of the Garden of the Lord '-
-
Then up spake the little maidenA
Treading on snow and pinkL
'O father these pretty blossomsM
Are very wicked I thinkL
-
'Had there been no Garden of EdenA
There never had been a fallB
And if never a tree had blossomedC
God would have loved us all '-
-
'Hush child ' the father answeredC
'By His decree man fellN
His ways are in clouds and darknessG
But He doeth all things wellN
-
'And whether by His ordainingF
To us cometh good or illO
Joy or pain or light or shadowC
We must fear and love Him still '-
-
'Oh I fear Him ' said the daughterD
'And I try to love Him tooC
But I wish He was good and gentleP
Kind and loving as you '-
-
The minister groaned in spiritC
As the tremulous lips of painA
And wide wet eyes upliftedC
Questioned his own in vainA
-
Bowing his head he ponderedC
The words of the little oneA
Had he erred in his life long teachingF
Had he wrong to his Master doneA
-
To what grim and dreadful idolP
Had he lent the holiest nameQ
Did his own heart loving and humanA
The God of his worship shameQ
-
And lo from the bloom and greennessG
From the tender skies aboveR
And the face of his little daughterD
He read a lesson of loveR
-
No more as the cloudy terrorD
Of Sinai's mount of lawS
But as Christ in the Syrian liliesT
The vision of God he sawS
-
And as when in the clefts of HorebU
Of old was His presence knownA
The dread Ineffable GloryK
Was Infinite Goodness aloneA
-
Thereafter his hearers notedC
In his prayers a tenderer strainA
And never the gospel of hatredC
Burned on his lips againA
-
And the scoffing tongue was prayerfulP
And the blinded eyes found sightC
And hearts as flint aforetimeQ
Grew soft in his warmth and lightC

John Greenleaf Whittier



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