The Spectre Pig Poem Rhyme Scheme

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A BALLAD	A
	-
IT was the stalwart butcher man	B
That knit his swarthy brow	C
And said the gentle Pig must die	D
And sealed it with a vow	C
	-
And oh it was the gentle Pig	E
Lay stretched upon the ground	F
And ah it was the cruel knife	G
His little heart that found	F
	-
They took him then those wicked men	H
They trailed him all along	I
They put a stick between his lips	J
And through his heels a thong	I
	-
And round and round an oaken beam	K
A hempen cord they flung	L
And like a mighty pendulum	M
All solemnly he swung	L
	-
Now say thy prayers thou sinful man	B
And think what thou hast done	N
And read thy catechism well	O
Thou bloody minded one	N
	-
For if his sprite should walk by night	P
It better were for thee	Q
That thou wert mouldering in the ground	F
Or bleaching in the sea	Q
	-
It was the savage butcher then	H
That made a mock of sin	R
And swore a very wicked oath	S
He did not care a pin	R
	-
It was the butcher's youngest son	N
His voice was broke with sighs	T
And with his pocket handkerchief	U
He wiped his little eyes	T
	-
All young and ignorant was he	Q
But innocent and mild	V
And in his soft simplicity	Q
Out spoke the tender child	V
	-
'Oh father father list to me	Q
The Pig is deadly sick	W
And men have hung him by his heels	X
And fed him with a stick '	-
	-
It was the bloody butcher then	H
That laughed as he would die	D
Yet did he soothe the sorrowing child	V
And bid him not to cry	D
	-
'Oh Nathan Nathan what's a Pig	E
That thou shouldst weep and wail	Y
Come bear thee like a butcher's child	V
And thou shalt have his tail '	-
	-
It was the butcher's daughter then	H
So slender and so fair	Z
That sobbed as it her heart would break	A2
And tore her yellow hair	Z
	-
And thus she spoke in thrilling tone	B2
Fast fell the tear drops big	E
'Ah woe is me Alas Alas	C2
The Pig The Pig The Pig '	-
	-
Then did her wicked father's lips	J
Make merry with her woe	D2
And call her many a naughty name	E2
Because she whimpered so	D2
	-
Ye need not weep ye gentle ones	F2
In vain your tears are shed	G2
Ye cannot wash his crimson hand	H2
Ye cannot soothe the dead	G2
	-
The bright sun folded on his breast	I2
His robes of rosy flame	E2
And softly over all the west	I2
The shades of evening came	E2
	-
He slept and troops of murdered Pigs	J2
Were busy with his dreams	K2
Loud rang their wild unearthly shrieks	L2
Wide yawned their mortal seams	K2
	-
The clock struck twelve the Dead hath heard	M2
He opened both his eyes	T
And sullenly he shook his tail	Y
To lash the feeding flies	T
	-
One quiver of the hempen cord	N2
One struggle and one bound	F
With stiffened limb and leaden eye	D
The Pig was on the ground	F
	-
And straight towards the sleeper's house	O2
His fearful way he wended	F
And hooting owl and hovering bat	F
On midnight wing attended	F
	-
Back flew the bolt up rose the latch	P2
And open swung the door	Q2
And little mincing feet were heard	F
Pat pat along the floor	Q2
	-
Two hoofs upon the sanded floor	Q2
And two upon the bed	F
And they are breathing side by side	F
The living and the dead	F
	-
'Now wake now wake thou butcher man	B
What makes thy cheek so pale	Y
Take hold take hold thou dost not fear	R2
To clasp a spectre's tail '	-
	-
Untwisted every winding coil	S2
The shuddering wretch took hold	F
All like an icicle it seemed	F
So tapering and so cold	F
	-
'Thou com'st with me thou butcher man '	-
He strives to loose his grasp	T2
But faster than the clinging vine	U2
Those twining spirals clasp	T2
	-
And open open swung the door	Q2
And fleeter than the wind	F
The shadowy spectre swept before	Q2
The butcher trailed behind	F
	-
Fast fled the darkness of the night	F
And morn rose faint and dim	V2
They called full loud they knocked full long	I
They did not waken him	V2
	-
Straight straight towards that oaken beam	K
A trampled pathway ran	B
A ghastly shape was swinging there	Z
It was the butcher man	B

Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Spectre Pig Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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