Sohrab And Rustum - An Episode Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABBCDEFGFHF IJKLJMNJOPFEIFEQRCE ST EUVUWXYZA2B2QC2D2E2F 2G2C2H2G2YI2J2UK2KKL 2M2N2L JE O2P2Q2B2R2S2Q2LT2KM2 QYLU2LV2W2X2Y2Z2QG2A 3QQB3YQ C3LNH2D3GE3LF3G3 HQH3I3J3K3L3QQQQM3L3 N3QO3QP3LQQ3QR3S3QQQ T3LQLU3V3L3I2W3LR3X3 QQMR3IJE LLQD2 Y3QZ3ED2A4 LQVQVQQB4QL C4R3D4Z2E C4E4F4QF4LR3M2C4 G4ED2 H4FD2I4QLJ4M3M3LK4EL 4M4IJN4E M2Q3 EQ3QQO4QR3P4QF4W2W LUZ2LQ4QU2UR3YR4LLQQ Y2C4D2S4R3Q LQQQLR3Q4 LQLT4WU4QR3QV4D2 D2Z3R3F3QQQW2W4W4QLX 4QI2V2Y4S2Z4VA3QQQLM 2QQR3 R3LQJX2QR3 LQQG4LQL4QM3LIE W2G2VB4O3WLP QQJQELQE LW E4L S2QQLQM2QLLLQLL G3W QF3G2M2WJG2LQLG2QQL H2VQJQ4LLU2YLVWL4LJW B4VL F2R3QO3LJLLWQQC4K3MG 4R3JLJGLJGE NQLLVLLQQ4LF4YQJQQD4 PLW YB3LJLQQL QQLPQQLJO2QSQQ QLQQL2QQF4YQU3LC2JLB QG2LL2C2Y4W4W4LQLLLG 4JLBE2QC2QLRG4M3LLLH 2J D2LQFVQR3Y2D2WW2 G4U3D2F4WQLTWG2VL4LB 4F2W M3Y4QLMQQQQWG4Q4LQLQ IS4 EY G4LLDLCWYWS2LQLQQYC4 LLVU3 B4O4YLLLQD3YR3O4G4LQ E4SQYQW4LH3EK3X3QE4Y JEW4LJE YA4Q4YPQL PQLLVE QQ4O2LL QJJJE LY TQYQQQLLLQA4O2TQE O2Q ILLQX4X2QQQM3LQY4GQE LJPLLI2M3QYG2LI2Q F4X2QQU3VQJE H2QG2 EQEQU3LVV2U3U4K4U3LQ U3BU3K4K4N2K4CBK4 K4QK4K4 K4K4K4Y2U3U3QU3LQU3Q QX4QLK4K4LL K4U3QQU3QQX4QLVQLU3Q K3R4U3U3U3U4K4U3PU3U 3LK4E4Y2K4 K4U3U3K4LQ K4QL D3K4K4K4K4QK4VK4QR3Q QK4K4K4 K4U3K4LQK4U3 K4LK4QQU3LQU3 U3K4K4K4K4U3QDQK4LK4 K4K4QQ

And the first grey of morning fill'd the east	A
And the fog rose out of the Oxus stream	B
But all the Tartar camp along the stream	B
Was hush'd and still the men were plunged in sleep	C
Sohrab alone he slept not all night long	D
He had lain wakeful tossing on his bed	E
But when the grey dawn stole into his tent	F
He rose and clad himself and girt his sword	G
And took his horseman's cloak and left his tent	F
And went abroad into the cold wet fog	H
Through the dim camp to Peran Wisa's tent	F
	-
Through the black Tartar tents he pass'd which stood	I
Clustering like bee hives on the low flat strand	J
Of Oxus where the summer floods o'erflow	K
When the sun melts the snows in high Pamere	L
Through the black tents he pass'd o'er that low strand	J
And to a hillock came a little back	M
From the stream's brink the spot where first a boat	N
Crossing the stream in summer scrapes the land	J
The men of former times had crown'd the top	O
With a clay fort but that was fall'n and now	P
The Tartars built there Peran Wisa's tent	F
A dome of laths and o'er it felts were spread	E
And Sohrab came there and went in and stood	I
Upon the thick piled carpets in the tent	F
And found the old man sleeping on his bed	E
Of rugs and felts and near him lay his arms	Q
And Peran Wisa heard him though the step	R
Was dull'd for he slept light an old man's sleep	C
And he rose quickly on one arm and said	E
	-
Who art thou for it is not yet clear dawn	S
Speak is there news or any night alarm	T
	-
But Sohrab came to the bedside and said	E
Thou know'st me Peran Wisa it is I	U
The sun is not yet risen and the foe	V
Sleep but I sleep not all night long I lie	U
Tossing and wakeful and I come to thee	W
For so did King Afrasiab bid me seek	X
Thy counsel and to heed thee as thy son	Y
In Samarcand before the army march'd	Z
And I will tell thee what my heart desires	A2
Thou know'st if since from Ader baijan first	B2
I came among the Tartars and bore arms	Q
I have still served Afrasiab well and shown	C2
At my boy's years the courage of a man	D2
This too thou know'st that while I still bear on	E2
The conquering Tartar ensigns through the world	F2
And beat the Persians back on every field	G2
I seek one man one man and one alone	C2
Rustum my father who I hoped should greet	H2
Should one day greet upon some well fought field	G2
His not unworthy not inglorious son	Y
So I long hoped but him I never find	I2
Come then hear now and grant me what I ask	J2
Let the two armies rest to day but I	U
Will challenge forth the bravest Persian lords	K2
To meet me man to man if I prevail	K
Rustum will surely hear it if I fall	K
Old man the dead need no one claim no kin	L2
Dim is the rumour of a common fight	M2
Where host meets host and many names are sunk	N2
But of a single combat fame speaks clear	L
	-
He spoke and Peran Wisa took the hand	J
Of the young man in his and sigh'd and said	E
	-
O Sohrab an unquiet heart is thine	O2
Canst thou not rest among the Tartar chiefs	P2
And share the battle's common chance with us	Q2
Who love thee but must press for ever first	B2
In single fight incurring single risk	R2
To find a father thou hast never seen	S2
That were far best my son to stay with us	Q2
Unmurmuring in our tents while it is war	L
And when 'tis truce then in Afrasiab's towns	T2
But if this one desire indeed rules all	K
To seek out Rustum seek him not through fight	M2
Seek him in peace and carry to his arms	Q
O Sohrab carry an unwounded son	Y
But far hence seek him for he is not here	L
For now it is not as when I was young	U2
When Rustum was in front of every fray	L
But now he keeps apart and sits at home	V2
In Seistan with Zal his father old	W2
Whether that his own mighty strength at last	X2
Feels the abhorr'd approaches of old age	Y2
Or in some quarrel with the Persian King	Z2
There go Thou wilt not Yet my heart forebodes	Q
Danger or death awaits thee on this field	G2
Fain would I know thee safe and well though lost	A3
To us fain therefore send thee hence in peace	Q
To seek thy father not seek single fights	Q
In vain but who can keep the lion's cub	B3
From ravening and who govern Rustum's son	Y
Go I will grant thee what thy heart desires	Q
	-
So said he and dropp'd Sohrab's hand and left	C3
His bed and the warm rugs whereon he lay	L
And o'er his chilly limbs his woollen coat	N
He pass'd and tied his sandals on his feet	H2
And threw a white cloak round him and he took	D3
In his right hand a ruler's staff no sword	G
And on his head he set his sheep skin cap	E3
Black glossy curl'd the fleece of Kara Kul	L
And raised the curtain of his tent and call'd	F3
His herald to his side and went abroad	G3
	-
	-
The sun by this had risen and clear'd the fog	H
From the broad Oxus and the glittering sands	Q
And from their tents the Tartar horsemen filed	H3
Into the open plain so Haman bade	I3
Haman who next to Peran Wisa ruled	J3
The host and still was in his lusty prime	K3
From their black tents long files of horse they stream'd	L3
As when some grey November morn the files	Q
In marching order spread of long neck'd cranes	Q
Stream over Casbin and the southern slopes	Q
Of Elburz from the Aralian estuaries	Q
Or some frore Caspian reed bed southward bound	M3
For the warm Persian sea board so they stream'd	L3
The Tartars of the Oxus the King's guard	N3
First with black sheep skin caps and with long spears	Q
Large men large steeds who from Bokhara come	O3
And Khiva and ferment the milk of mares	Q
Next the more temperate Toorkmuns of the south	P3
The Tukas and the lances of Salore	L
And those from Attruck and the Caspian sands	Q
Light men and on light steeds who only drink	Q3
The acrid milk of camels and their wells	Q
And then a swarm of wandering horse who came	R3
From far and a more doubtful service own'd	S3
The Tartars of Ferghana from the banks	Q
Of the Jaxartes men with scanty beards	Q
And close set skull caps and those wilder hordes	Q
Who roam o'er Kipchak and the northern waste	T3
Kalmucks and unkempt Kuzzaks tribes who stray	L
Nearest the Pole and wandering Kirghizzes	Q
Who come on shaggy ponies from Pamere	L
These all filed out from camp into the plain	U3
And on the other side the Persians form'd	V3
First a light cloud of horse Tartars they seem'd	L3
The Ilyats of Khorassan and behind	I2
The royal troops of Persia horse and foot	W3
Marshall'd battalions bright in burnish'd steel	L
But Peran Wisa with his herald came	R3
Threading the Tartar squadrons to the front	X3
And with his staff kept back the foremost ranks	Q
And when Ferood who led the Persians saw	Q
That Peran Wisa kept the Tartars back	M
He took his spear and to the front he came	R3
And check'd his ranks and fix'd them where they stood	I
And the old Tartar came upon the sand	J
Betwixt the silent hosts and spake and said	E
	-
	-
Ferood and ye Persians and Tartars hear	L
Let there be truce between the hosts to day	L
But choose a champion from the Persian lords	Q
To fight our champion Sohrab man to man	D2
	-
	-
As in the country on a morn in June	Y3
When the dew glistens on the pearled ears	Q
A shiver runs through the deep corn for joy	Z3
So when they heard what Peran Wisa said	E
A thrill through all the Tartar squadrons ran	D2
Of pride and hope for Sohrab whom they loved	A4
	-
	-
But as a troop of pedlars from Cabool	L
Cross underneath the Indian Caucasus	Q
That vast sky neighbouring mountain of milk snow	V
Crossing so high that as they mount they pass	Q
Long flocks of travelling birds dead on the snow	V
Choked by the air and scarce can they themselves	Q
Slake their parch'd throats with sugar'd mulberries	Q
In single file they move and stop their breath	B4
For fear they should dislodge the o'er hanging snows	Q
So the pale Persians held their breath with fear	L
	-
	-
And to Ferood his brother chiefs came up	C4
To counsel Gudurz and Zoarrah came	R3
And Feraburz who ruled the Persian host	D4
Second and was the uncle of the King	Z2
These came and counsell'd and then Gudurz said	E
	-
	-
Ferood shame bids us take their challenge up	C4
Yet champion have we none to match this youth	E4
He has the wild stag's foot the lion's heart	F4
But Rustum came last night aloof he sits	Q
And sullen and has pitch'd his tents apart	F4
Him will I seek and carry to his ear	L
The Tartar challenge and this young man's name	R3
Haply he will forget his wrath and fight	M2
Stand forth the while and take their challenge up	C4
	-
	-
So spake he and Ferood stood forth and cried	G4
Old man be it agreed as thou hast said	E
Let Sohrab arm and we will find a man	D2
	-
	-
He spake and Peran Wisa turn'd and strode	H4
Back through the opening squadrons to his tent	F
But through the anxious Persians Gudurz ran	D2
And cross'd the camp which lay behind and reach'd	I4
Out on the sands beyond it Rustum's tents	Q
Of scarlet cloth they were and glittering gay	L
Just pitch'd the high pavilion in the midst	J4
Was Rustum's and his men lay camp'd around	M3
And Gudurz enter'd Rustum's tent and found	M3
Rustum his morning meal was done but still	L
The table stood before him charged with food	K4
A side of roasted sheep and cakes of bread	E
And dark green melons and there Rustum sate	L4
Listless and held a falcon on his wrist	M4
And play'd with it but Gudurz came and stood	I
Before him and he look'd and saw him stand	J
And with a cry sprang up and dropp'd the bird	N4
And greeted Gudurz with both hands and said	E
	-
	-
Welcome these eyes could see no better sight	M2
What news but sit down first and eat and drink	Q3
	-
	-
But Gudurz stood in the tent door and said	E
Not now a time will come to eat and drink	Q3
But not to day to day has other needs	Q
The armies are drawn out and stand at gaze	Q
For from the Tartars is a challenge brought	O4
To pick a champion from the Persian lords	Q
To fight their champion and thou know'st his name	R3
Sohrab men call him but his birth is kid	P4
O Rustum like thy might is this young man's	Q
He has the wild stag's foot the lion's heart	F4
And he is young and Iran's chiefs are old	W2
Or else too weak and all eyes turn to thee	W
Come down and help us Rustum or we lose ''	-
	-
	-
He spoke but Rustum answer'd with a smile	L
Go to if Iran's chiefs are old then I	U
Am older if the young are weak the King	Z2
Errs strangely for the King for Kai Khosroo	L
Himself is young and honours younger men	Q4
And lets the aged moulder to their graves	Q
Rustum he loves no more but loves the young	U2
The young may rise at Sohrab's vaunts not I	U
For what care I though all speak Sohrab's fame	R3
For would that I myself had such a son	Y
And not that one slight helpless girl I have	R4
A son so famed so brave to send to war	L
And I to tarry with the snow hair'd Zal	L
My father whom the robber Afghans vex	Q
And clip his borders short and drive his herds	Q
And he has none to guard his weak old age	Y2
There would I go and hang my armour up	C4
And with my great name fence that weak old man	D2
And spend the goodly treasures I have got	S4
And rest my age and hear of Sohrab's fame	R3
And leave to death the hosts of thankless kings	Q
And with these slaughterous hands draw sword no more ''	-
	-
	-
He spoke and smiled and Gudurz made reply	L
What then O Rustum will men say to this	Q
When Sohrab dares our bravest forth and seeks	Q
Thee most of all and thou whom most he seeks	Q
Hidest thy face Take heed lest men should say	L
Like some old miser Rustum hoards his fame	R3
And shuns to peril it with younger men	Q4
	-
	-
And greatly moved then Rustum made reply	L
O Gudurz wherefore dost thou say such words	Q
Thou knowest better words than this to say	L
What is one more one less obscure or famed	T4
Valiant or craven young or old to me	W
Are not they mortal am not I myself	U4
But who for men of nought would do great deeds	Q
Come thou shalt see how Rustum hoards his fame	R3
But I will fight unknown and in plain arms	Q
Let not men say of Rustum he was match'd	V4
In single fight with any mortal man	D2
	-
	-
He spoke and frown'd and Gudurz turn'd and ran	D2
Back quickly through the camp in fear and joy	Z3
Fear at his wrath but joy that Rustum came	R3
But Rustum strode to his tent door and call'd	F3
His followers in and bade them bring his arms	Q
And clad himself in steel the arms he chose	Q
Were plain and on his shield was no device	Q
Only his helm was rich inlaid with gold	W2
And from the fluted spine atop a plume	W4
Of horsehair waved a scarlet horsehair plume	W4
So arm'd he issued forth and Ruksh his horse	Q
Follow'd him like a faithful hound at heel	L
Ruksh whose renown was noised through all the earth	X4
The horse whom Rustum on a foray once	Q
Did in Bokhara by the river find	I2
A colt beneath its dam and drove him home	V2
And rear'd him a bright bay with lofty crest	Y4
Dight with a saddle cloth of broider'd green	S2
Crusted with gold and on the ground were work'd	Z4
All beasts of chase all beasts which hunters know	V
So follow'd Rustum left his tents and cross'd	A3
The camp and to the Persian host appear'd
And all the Persians knew him and with shouts	Q
Hail'd but the Tartars knew not who he was	Q
And dear as the wet diver to the eyes	Q
Of his pale wife who waits and weeps on shore	L
By sandy Bahrein in the Persian Gulf
Plunging all day in the blue waves at night	M2
Having made up his tale of precious pearls	Q
Rejoins her in their hut upon the sands	Q
So dear to the pale Persians Rustum came	R3
	-
	-
And Rustum to the Persian front advanced
And Sohrab arm'd in Haman's tent and came	R3
And as afield the reapers cut a swath
Down through the middle of a rich man's corn
And on each side are squares of standing corn
And in the midst a stubble short and bare	L
So on each side were squares of men with spears	Q
Bristling and in the midst the open sand	J
And Rustum came upon the sand and cast	X2
His eyes toward the Tartar tents and saw	Q
Sohrab come forth and eyed him as he came	R3
	-
	-
As some rich woman on a winter's morn
Eyes through her silken curtains the poor drudge
Who with numb blacken'd fingers makes her fire	L
At cock crow on a starlit winter's morn
When the frost flowers the whiten'd window panes	Q
And wonders how she lives and what the thoughts	Q
Of that poor drudge may be so Rustum eyed	G4
The unknown adventurous youth who from afar	L
Came seeking Rustum and defying forth
All the most valiant chiefs long he perused
His spirited air and wonder'd who he was	Q
For very young he seem'd tenderly rear'd
Like some young cypress tall and dark and straight	L4
Which in a queen's secluded garden throws	Q
Its slight dark shadow on the moonlit turf
By midnight to a bubbling fountain's sound	M3
So slender Sohrab seem'd so softly rear'd
And a deep pity enter'd Rustum's soul	L
As he beheld him coming and he stood	I
And beckon'd to him with his hand and said	E
	-
	-
O thou young man the air of Heaven is soft
And warm and pleasant but the grave is cold	W2
Heaven's air is better than the cold dead grave
Behold me I am vast and clad in iron
And tried and I have stood on many a field	G2
Of blood and I have fought with many a foe	V
Never was that field lost or that foe saved
O Sohrab wherefore wilt thou rush on death	B4
Be govern'd quit the Tartar host and come	O3
To Iran and be as my son to me	W
And fight beneath my banner till I die	L
There are no youths in Iran brave as thou	P
	-
	-
So he spake mildly Sohrab heard his voice	Q
The mighty voice of Rustum and he saw	Q
His giant figure planted on the sand	J
Sole like some single tower which a chief
Hath builded on the waste in former years	Q
Against the robbers and he saw that head	E
Streak'd with its first grey hairs hope filled his soul	L
And he ran forward and embraced his knees	Q
And clasp'd his hand within his own and said	E
	-
	-
O by thy father's head by thine own soul	L
Art thou not Rustum speak art thou not he	W
	-
	-
But Rustum eyed askance the kneeling youth	E4
And turn'd away and spake to his own soul	L
	-
	-
Ah me I muse what this young fox may mean	S2
False wily boastful are these Tartar boys	Q
For if I now confess this thing he asks	Q
And hide it not but say Rustum is here	L
He will not yield indeed nor quit our foes	Q
But he will find some pretext not to fight	M2
And praise my fame and proffer courteous gifts	Q
A belt or sword perhaps and go his way	L
And on a feast tide in Afrasiab's hall	L
In Samarcand he will arise and cry	L
I challenged once when the two armies camp'd
Beside the Oxus all the Persian lords	Q
To cope with me in single fight but they	L
Shrank only Rustum dared then he and I	L
Changed gifts and went on equal terms away '	-
So will he speak perhaps while men applaud	G3
Then were the chiefs of Iran shamed through me	W
	-
	-
And then he turn'd and sternly spake aloud
'Rise wherefore dost thou vainly question thus	Q
Of Rustum I am here whom thou hast call'd	F3
By challenge forth make good thy vaunt or yield	G2
Is it with Rustum only thou wouldst fight	M2
Rash boy men look on Rustum's face and flee	W
For well I know that did great Rustum stand	J
Before thy face this day and were reveal'd	G2
There would be then no talk of fighting more	L
But being what I am I tell thee this	Q
Do thou record it in thine inmost soul	L
Either thou shalt renounce thy vaunt and yield	G2
Or else thy bones shall strew this sand till winds	Q
Bleach them or Oxus with his summer floods	Q
Oxus in summer wash them all away	L
	-
	-
He spoke and Sohrab answer'd on his feet	H2
Art thou so fierce Thou wilt not fright me so	V
I am no girl to be made pale by words	Q
Yet this thou hast said well did Rustum stand	J
Here on this field there were no fighting then	Q4
But Rustum is far hence and we stand here	L
Begin thou art more vast more dread than I	L
And thou art proved I know and I am young	U2
But yet success sways with the breath of Heaven	Y
And though thou thinkest that thou knowest sure	L
Thy victory yet thou canst not surely know	V
For we are all like swimmers in the sea	W
Poised on the top of a huge wave of fate	L4
Which hangs uncertain to which side to fall	L
And whether it will heave us up to land	J
Or whether it will roll us out to sea	W
Back out to sea to the deep waves of death	B4
We know not and no search will make us know	V
Only the event will teach us in its hour	L
	-
	-
He spoke and Rustum answer'd not but hurl'd	F2
His spear down from the shoulder down it came	R3
As on some partridge in the corn a hawk
That long has tower'd in the airy clouds	Q
Drops like a plummet Sohrab saw it come	O3
And sprang aside quick as a flash the spear	L
Hiss'd and went quivering down into the sand	J
Which it sent flying wide then Sohrab threw	L
In turn and full struck Rustum's shield sharp rang
The iron plates rang sharp but turn'd the spear	L
And Rustum seized his club which none but he	W
Could wield an unlopp'd trunk it was and huge
Still rough like those which men in treeless plains	Q
To build them boats fish from the flooded rivers	Q
Hyphasis or Hydaspes when high up	C4
By their dark springs the wind in winter time	K3
Hath made in Himalayan forests wrack	M
And strewn the channels with torn boughs so huge
The club which Rustum lifted now and struck
One stroke but again Sohrab sprang aside	G4
Lithe as the glancing snake and the club came	R3
Thundering to earth and leapt from Rustum's hand	J
And Rustum follow'd his own blow and fell	L
To his knees and with his fingers clutch'd the sand	J
And now might Sohrab have unsheathed his sword	G
And pierced the mighty Rustum while he lay	L
Dizzy and on his knees and choked with sand	J
But he look'd on and smiled nor bared his sword	G
But courteously drew back and spoke and said	E
	-
	-
Thou strik'st too hard that club of thine will float	N
Upon the summer floods and not my bones	Q
But rise and be not wroth not wroth am I	L
No when I see thee wrath forsakes my soul	L
Thou say'st thou art not Rustum be it so	V
Who art thou then that canst so touch my soul	L
Boy as I am I have seen battles too	L
Have waded foremost in their bloody waves	Q
And heard their hollow roar of dying men	Q4
But never was my heart thus touch'd before	L
Are they from Heaven these softenings of the heart	F4
O thou old warrior let us yield to Heaven	Y
Come plant we here in earth our angry spears	Q
And make a truce and sit upon this sand	J
And pledge each other in red wine like friends	Q
And thou shalt talk to me of Rustum's deeds	Q
There are enough foes in the Persian host	D4
Whom I may meet and strike and feel no pang
Champions enough Afrasiab has whom thou	P
Mayst fight fight them when they confront thy spear	L
But oh let there be peace 'twixt thee and me	W
	-
	-
He ceased but while he spake Rustum had risen	Y
And stood erect trembling with rage his club	B3
He left to lie but had regain'd his spear	L
Whose fiery point now in his mail'd right hand	J
Blazed bright and baleful like that autumn star	L
The baleful sign of fevers dust had soil'd
His stately crest and dimm'd his glittering arms	Q
His breast heaved his lips foam'd and twice his voice	Q
Was choked with rage at last these words broke way	L
	-
	-
Girl nimble with thy feet not with thy hands	Q
Curl'd minion dancer coiner of sweet words	Q
Fight let me hear thy hateful voice no more	L
Thou art not in Afrasiab's gardens now	P
With Tartar girls with whom thou art wont to dance	Q
But on the Oxus sands and in the dance	Q
Of battle and with me who make no play	L
Of war I fight it out and hand to hand	J
Speak not to me of truce and pledge and wine	O2
Remember all thy valour try thy feints	Q
And cunning all the pity I had is gone	S
Because thou hast shamed me before both the hosts	Q
With thy light skipping tricks and thy girl's wiles	Q
	-
	-
He spoke and Sohrab kindled at his taunts	Q
And he too drew his sword at once they rush'd
Together as two eagles on one prey	L
Come rushing down together from the clouds	Q
One from the east one from the west their shields	Q
Dash'd with a clang together and a din	L2
Rose such as that the sinewy woodcutters	Q
Make often in the forest's heart at morn
Of hewing axes crashing trees such blows	Q
Rustum and Sohrab on each other hail'd
And you would say that sun and stars took part	F4
In that unnatural conflict for a cloud
Grew suddenly in Heaven and dark'd the sun	Y
Over the fighters' heads and a wind rose	Q
Under their feet and moaning swept the plain	U3
And in a sandy whirlwind wrapp'd the pair	L
In gloom they twain were wrapp'd and they alone	C2
For both the on looking hosts on either hand	J
Stood in broad daylight and the sky was pure	L
And the sun sparkled on the Oxus stream	B
But in the gloom they fought with bloodshot eyes	Q
And labouring breath first Rustum struck the shield	G2
Which Sohrab held stiff out the steel spiked spear	L
Rent the tough plates but fail'd to reach the skin	L2
And Rustum pluck'd it back with angry groan	C2
Then Sohrab with his sword smote Rustum's helm
Nor clove its steel quite through but all the crest	Y4
He shore away and that proud horsehair plume	W4
Never till now defiled sank to the dust
And Rustum bow'd his head but then the gloom	W4
Grew blacker thunder rumbled in the air	L
And lightnings rent the cloud and Ruksh the horse	Q
Who stood at hand utter'd a dreadful cry	L
No horse's cry was that most like the roar	L
Of some pain'd desert lion who all day	L
Hath trail'd the hunter's javelin in his side	G4
And comes at night to die upon the sand	J
The two hosts heard that cry and quaked for fear	L
And Oxus curdled as it cross'd his stream	B
But Sohrab heard and quail'd not but rush'd on	E2
And struck again and again Rustum bow'd
His head but this time all the blade like glass	Q
Sprang in a thousand shivers on the helm
And in the hand the hilt remain'd alone	C2
Then Rustum raised his head his dreadful eyes	Q
Glared and he shook on high his menacing spear	L
And shouted Rustum Sohrab heard that shout
And shrank amazed back he recoil'd one step	R
And scann'd with blinking eyes the advancing form
And then he stood bewilder'd and he dropp'd
His covering shield and the spear pierced his side	G4
He reel'd and staggering back sank to the ground	M3
And then the gloom dispersed and the wind fell	L
And the bright sun broke forth and melted all	L
The cloud and the two armies saw the pair	L
Saw Rustum standing safe upon his feet	H2
And Sohrab wounded on the bloody sand	J
	-
	-
Then with a bitter smile Rustum began	D2
Sohrab thou thoughtest in thy mind to kill	L
A Persian lord this day and strip his corpse	Q
And bear thy trophies to Afrasiab's tent	F
Or else that the great Rustum would come down
Himself to fight and that thy wiles would move
His heart to take a gift and let thee go	V
And then that all the Tartar host would praise	Q
Thy courage or thy craft and spread thy fame	R3
To glad thy father in his weak old age	Y2
Fool thou art slain and by an unknown man	D2
Dearer to the red jackals shalt thou be	W
Than to thy friends and to thy father old	W2
	-
	-
And with a fearless mien Sohrab replied	G4
Unknown thou art yet thy fierce vaunt is vain	U3
Thou dost not slay me proud and boastful man	D2
No Rustum slays me and this filial heart	F4
For were I match'd with ten such men as thee	W
And I were that which till to day I was	Q
They should be lying here I standing there	L
But that belov d name unnerved my arm	T
That name and something I confess in thee	W
Which troubles all my heart and made my shield	G2
Fall and thy spear transfix'd an unarm'd foe	V
And now thou boastest and insult'st my fate	L4
But hear thou this fierce man tremble to hear	L
The mighty Rustum shall avenge my death	B4
My father whom I seek through all the world	F2
He shall avenge my death and punish thee	W
	-
	-
As when some hunter in the spring hath found	M3
A breeding eagle sitting on her nest	Y4
Upon the craggy isle of a hill lake
And pierced her with an arrow as she rose	Q
And follow'd her to find her where she fell	L
Far off anon her mate comes winging back	M
From hunting and a great way off descries	Q
His huddling young left sole at that he checks	Q
His pinion and with short uneasy sweeps	Q
Circles above his eyry with loud screams	Q
Chiding his mate back to her nest but she	W
Lies dying with the arrow in her side	G4
In some far stony gorge out of his ken	Q4
A heap of fluttering feathers never more	L
Shall the lake glass her flying over it
Never the black and dripping precipices	Q
Echo her stormy scream as she sails by	L
As that poor bird flies home nor knows his loss	Q
So Rustum knew not his own loss but stood	I
Over his dying son and knew him not	S4
	-
	-
But with a cold incredulous voice he said	E
What prate is this of fathers and revenge
The mighty Rustum never had a son	Y
	-
And with a failing voice Sohrab replied	G4
Ah yes he had and that lost son am I	L
Surely the news will one day reach his ear	L
Reach Rustum where he sits and tarries long	D
Somewhere I know not where but far from here	L
And pierce him like a stab and make him leap	C
To arms and cry for vengeance upon thee	W
Fierce man bethink thee for an only son	Y
What will that grief what will that vengeance be	W
Oh could I live till I that grief had seen	S2
Yet him I pity not so much but her	L
My mother who in Ader baijan dwells	Q
With that old king her father who grows grey	L
With age and rules over the valiant Koords	Q
Her most I pity who no more will see	Q
Sohrab returning from the Tartar camp
With spoils and honour when the war is done	Y
But a dark rumour will be bruited up	C4
From tribe to tribe until it reach her ear	L
And then will that defenceless woman learn
That Sohrab will rejoice her sight no more	L
But that in battle with a nameless foe	V
By the far distant Oxus he is slain	U3
	-
	-
He spoke and as he ceased he wept aloud
Thinking of her he left and his own death	B4
He spoke but Rustum listen'd plunged in thought	O4
Nor did he yet believe it was his son	Y
Who spoke although he call'd back names he knew	L
For he had had sure tidings that the babe
Which was in Ader baijan born to him
Had been a puny girl no boy at all	L
So that sad mother sent him word for fear	L
Rustum should seek the boy to train in arms	Q
And so he deem'd that either Sohrab took	D3
By a false boast the style of Rustum's son	Y
Or that men gave it him to swell his fame	R3
So deem'd he yet he listen'd plunged in thought	O4
And his soul set to grief as the vast tide	G4
Of the bright rocking Ocean sets to shore	L
At the full moon tears gather'd in his eyes	Q
For he remember'd his own early youth	E4
And all its bounding rapture as at dawn	S
The shepherd from his mountain lodge descries	Q
A far bright city smitten by the sun	Y
Through many rolling clouds so Rustum saw	Q
His youth saw Sohrab's mother in her bloom	W4
And that old king her father who loved well	L
His wandering guest and gave him his fair child	H3
With joy and all the pleasant life they led	E
They three in that long distant summer time	K3
The castle and the dewy woods and hunt	X3
And hound and morn on those delightful hills	Q
In Ader baijan And he saw that Youth	E4
Of age and looks to be his own dear son	Y
Piteous and lovely lying on the sand	J
Like some rich hyacinth which by the scythe
Of an unskilful gardener has been cut
Mowing the garden grass plots near its bed	E
And lies a fragrant tower of purple bloom	W4
On the mown dying grass so Sohrab lay	L
Lovely in death upon the common sand	J
And Rustum gazed on him with grief and said	E
	-
	-
O Sohrab thou indeed art such a son	Y
Whom Rustum wert thou his might well have loved	A4
Yet here thou errest Sohrab or else men	Q4
Have told thee false thou art not Rustum's son	Y
For Rustum had no son one child he had
But one a girl who with her mother now	P
Plies some light female task nor dreams of us	Q
Of us she dreams not nor of wounds nor war	L
	-
	-
But Sohrab answer'd him in wrath for now	P
The anguish of the deep fix'd spear grew fierce	Q
And he desired to draw forth the steel	L
And let the blood flow free and so to die	L
But first he would convince his stubborn foe	V
And rising sternly on one arm he said	E
	-
	-
Man who art thou who dost deny my words	Q
Truth sits upon the lips of dying men	Q4
And falsehood while I lived was far from mine	O2
I tell thee prick'd upon this arm I bear	L
That seal which Rustum to my mother gave
That she might prick it on the babe she bore	L
	-
	-
He spoke and all the blood left Rustum's cheeks	Q
And his knees totter'd and he smote his hand	J
Against his breast his heavy mailed hand	J
That the hard iron corslet clank'd aloud
And to his heart he press'd the other hand	J
And in a hollow voice he spake and said	E
	-
	-
Sohrab that were a proof which could not lie	L
If thou show this then art thou Rustum's son	Y
	-
	-
Then with weak hasty fingers Sohrab loosed
His belt and near the shoulder bared his arm	T
And show'd a sign in faint vermilion points	Q
Prick'd as a cunning workman in Pekin	Y
Pricks with vermilion some clear porcelain vase	Q
An emperor's gift at early morn he paints	Q
And all day long and when night comes the lamp
Lights up his studious forehead and thin hands	Q
So delicately prick'd the sign appear'd
On Sohrab's arm the sign of Rustum's seal	L
It was that griffin which of old rear'd Zal	L
Rustum's great father whom they left to die	L
A helpless babe among the mountain rocks	Q
Him that kind creature found and rear'd and loved	A4
Then Rustum took it for his glorious sign	O2
And Sohrab bared that image on his arm	T
And himself scann'd it long with mournful eyes	Q
And then he touch'd it with his hand and said	E
	-
	-
How say'st thou Is that sign the proper sign	O2
Of Rustum's son or of some other man's	Q
	-
	-
He spoke but Rustum gazed and gazed and stood	I
Speechless and then he utter'd one sharp cry	L
O boy thy father and his voice choked there	L
And then a dark cloud pass'd before his eyes	Q
And his head swam and he sank down to earth	X4
But Sohrab crawl'd to where he lay and cast	X2
His arms about his neck and kiss'd his lips	Q
And with fond faltering fingers stroked his cheeks	Q
Trying to call him back to life and life
Came back to Rustum and he oped his eyes	Q
And they stood wide with horror and he seized
In both his hands the dust which lay around	M3
And threw it on his head and smirch'd his hair	L
His hair and face and beard and glittering arms	Q
And strong convulsive groanings shook his breast	Y4
And his sobs choked him and he clutch'd his sword	G
To draw it and for ever let life out
But Sohrab saw his thoughts and held his hands	Q
And with a soothing voice he spake and said	E
	-
	-
Father forbear for I but meet to day	L
The doom which at my birth was written down
In Heaven and thou art Heaven's unconscious hand	J
Surely my heart cried out that it was thou	P
When first I saw thee and thy heart spoke too	L
I know it but fate trod those promptings down
Under its iron heel fate fate engaged
The strife and hurl'd me on my father's spear	L
But let us speak no more of this I find	I2
My father let me feel that I have found	M3
Come sit beside me on this sand and take
My head betwixt thy hands and kiss my cheeks	Q
And wash them with thy tears and say My son	Y
Quick quick for number'd are my sands of life
And swift for like the lightning to this field	G2
I came and like the wind I go away	L
Sudden and swift and like a passing wind	I2
But it was writ in Heaven that this should be	Q
	-
	-
So said he and his voice released the heart	F4
Of Rustum and his tears broke forth he cast	X2
His arms round his son's neck and wept aloud
And kiss'd him And awe fell on both the hosts	Q
When they saw Rustum's grief and Ruksh the horse	Q
With his head bowing to the ground and mane	U3
Sweeping the dust came near and in mute woe	V
First to the one then to the other moved
His head as if enquiring what their grief
Might mean and from his dark compassionate eyes	Q
The big warm tears roll'd down and caked the sand	J
But Rustum chid him with stern voice and said	E
	-
	-
Ruksh now thou grievest but O Ruksh thy feet	H2
Should first have rotted on their nimble joints	Q
Or ere they brought thy master to this field	G2
	-
	-
But Sohrab look'd upon the horse and said	E
Is this then Ruksh How often in past days	Q
My mother told me of thee thou brave steed
My terrible father's terrible horse and said	E
That I should one day find thy lord and thee	Q
Come let me lay my hand upon thy mane	U3
O Ruksh thou art more fortunate than I	L
For thou has gone where I shall never go	V
And snuff'd the breezes of my father's home	V2
And thou hast trod the sands of Seistan	U3
And seen the River of Helmund and the Lake
Of Zirrah and the aged Zal himself	U4
Has often stroked thy neck and given thee food	K4
Corn in a golden platter soak'd with wine	U3
And said O Ruksh bear Rustrum well but I	L
Have never known my grandsire's furrow'd face	Q
Nor seen his lofty house in Seistan	U3
Nor slaked my thirst at the clear Helmund stream	B
But lodged among my father's foes and seen	U3
Afrasiab's cities only Samarcand	K4
Bokhara and lone Khiva in the waste	K4
And the black Toorkmun tents and only drunk	N2
The desert rivers Moorghab and Tejend	K4
Kohik and where the Kalmuks feed their sheep	C
The northern Sir and this great Oxus stream	B
The yellow Oxus by whose brink I die	K4
	-
	-
Then with a heavy groan Rustum bewail'd	K4
Oh that its waves were flowing over me	Q
Oh that I saw its grains of yellow silt	K4
Roll tumbling in the current o'er my head	K4
	-
	-
But with a grave mild voice Sohrab replied	K4
Desire not that my father thou must live
For some are born to do great deeds and live
As some are born to be obscured and die	K4
Do thou the deeds I die too young to do	K4
And reap a second glory in thine age	Y2
Thou art my father and thy gain is mine	U3
But come thou seest this great host of men	U3
Which follow me I pray thee slay not these	Q
Let me entreat for them what have they done	U3
They follow'd me my hope my fame my star	L
Let them all cross the Oxus back in peace	Q
But me thou must bear hence not send with them
But carry me with thee to Seistan	U3
And place me on a bed and mourn for me	Q
Thou and the snow hair'd Zal and all thy friends	Q
And thou must lay me in that lovely earth	X4
And heap a stately mound above my bones	Q
And plant a far seen pillar over all	L
That so the passing horseman on the waste	K4
May see my tomb a great way off and cry	K4
Sohral the mighty Rustum's son lies there	L
Whom his great father did in ignorance kill	L
And I be not forgotten in my grave
	-
	-
And with a mournful voice Rustum replied	K4
Fear not as thou hast said Sohrab my son	U3
So shall it be for I will burn my tents	Q
And quit the host and bear thee hence with me	Q
And carry thee away to Seistan	U3
And place thee on a bed and mourn for thee	Q
With the snow headed Zal and all my friends	Q
And I will lay thee in the lovely earth	X4
And heap a stately mound above thy bones	Q
And plant a far seen pillar over all	L
And men shall not forget thee in thy grave
And I will spare thy host yea let them go	V
Let them all cross the Oxus back in peace	Q
What should I do with slaying any more	L
For would that all whom I have ever slain	U3
Might be once more alive my bitterest foes	Q
And they who were call'd champions in their time	K3
And through whose death I won that fame I have	R4
And I were nothing but a common man	U3
A poor mean soldier and without renown	U3
So thou mightest live too my son my son	U3
Or rather would that I even I myself	U4
Might now be lying on this bloody sand	K4
Near death and by an ignorant stroke of thine	U3
Not thou of mine and I might die not thou	P
And I not thou be borne to Seistan	U3
And Zal might weep above my grave not thine	U3
And say O son I weep thee not too sore	L
For willingly I know thou met'st thine end	K4
But now in blood and battles was my youth	E4
And full of blood and battles is my age	Y2
And I shall never end this life of blood	K4
	-
	-
Then at the point of death Sohrab replied	K4
A life of blood indeed thou dreadful man	U3
But thou shalt yet have peace only not now	U3
Not yet but thou shalt have it on that day	K4
When thou shalt sail in a high masted ship
Thou and the other peers of Kai Khosroo	L
Returning home over the salt blue sea	Q
From laying thy dear master in his grave
	-
	-
And Rustum gazed in Sohrab's face and said	K4
Soon be that day my son and deep that sea	Q
Till then if fate so wills let me endure	L
	-
	-
He spoke and Sohrab smiled on him and took	D3
The spear and drew it from his side and eased	K4
His wound's imperious anguish but the blood	K4
Came welling from the open gash and life
Flow'd with the stream all down his cold white side	K4
The crimson torrent ran dim now and soil'd	K4
Like the soil'd tissue of white violets	Q
Left freshly gather'd on their native bank
By children whom their nurses call with haste	K4
Indoors from the sun's eye his head droop'd low	V
His limbs grew slack motionless white he lay	K4
White with eyes closed only when heavy gasps	Q
Deep heavy gasps quivering through all his frame	R3
Convulsed him back to life he open'd them
And fix'd them feebly on his father's face	Q
Till now all strength was ebb'd and from his limbs	Q
Unwillingly the spirit fled away	K4
Regretting the warm mansion which it left	K4
And youth and bloom and this delightful world	K4
	-
	-
So on the bloody sand Sohrab lay dead	K4
And the great Rustum drew his horseman's cloak
Down o'er his face and sate by his dead son	U3
As those black granite pillars once high rear'd	K4
By Jemshid in Persepolis to bear	L
His house now 'mid their broken flights of steps	Q
Lie prone enormous down the mountain side	K4
So in the sand lay Rustum by his son	U3
	-
	-
And night came down over the solemn waste	K4
And the two gazing hosts and that sole pair	L
And darken'd all and a cold fog with night	K4
Crept from the Oxus Soon a hum arose	Q
As of a great assembly loosed and fires	Q
Began to twinkle through the fog for now	U3
Both armies moved to camp and took their meal	L
The Persians took it on the open sands	Q
Southward the Tartars by the river marge
And Rustum and his son were left alone	U3
	-
	-
But the majestic river floated on	U3
Out of the mist and hum of that low land	K4
Into the frosty starlight and there moved	K4
Rejoicing through the hush'd Chorasmian waste	K4
Under the solitary moon he flow'd	K4
Right for the polar star past Orgunj
Brimming and bright and large then sands begin	U3
To hem his watery march and dam his streams	Q
And split his currents that for many a league
The shorn and parcell'd Oxus strains along	D
Through beds of sand and matted rushy isles	Q
Oxus forgetting the bright speed he had	K4
In his high mountain cradle in Pamere	L
A foil'd circuitous wanderer till at last	K4
The long'd for dash of waves is heard and wide	K4
His luminous home of waters opens bright	K4
And tranquil from whose floor the new bathed stars	Q
Emerge and shine upon the Aral Sea	Q

Matthew Arnold

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