Ballad Of Fisher's Boarding-house Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCBDB EFGFHF IJKLML NOPOQO RSTSRS MEUVRE RWXWEW YRNRZR MNA2NRN B2SC2SRS NOGORO MMRMD2S SE2SE2SE2 MRF2RG2R RMSMRM MSSSRS NOSORO

'T was Fultah Fisher's boarding houseA
Where sailor men resideB
And there were men of all the portsC
From Mississip to ClydeB
And regally they spat and smokedD
And fearsomely they liedB
-
They lied about the purple SeaE
That gave them scanty breadF
They lied about the Earth beneathG
The Heavens overheadF
For they had looked too often onH
Black rum when that was redF
-
They told their tales of wreck and wrongI
Of shame and lust and fraudJ
They backed their toughest statements withK
The Brimstone of the LordL
And crackling oaths went to and froM
Across the fist banged boardL
-
And there was Hans the blue eyed DaneN
Bull throated bare of armO
Who carried on his hairy chestP
The maid Ultruda's charmO
The little silver crucifixQ
That keeps a man from harmO
-
And there was Jake Without the EarsR
And Pamba the MalayS
And Carboy Gin the Guinea cookT
And Luz from Vigo BayS
And Honest Jack who sold them slopsR
And harvested their payS
-
And there was Salem HardiekerM
A lean Bostonian heE
Russ German English Halfbreed FinnU
Yank Dane and PortugeeV
At Fultah Fisher's boarding houseR
They rested from the seaE
-
Now Anne of Austria shared their drinksR
Collinga knew her fameW
From Tarnau in GaliciaX
To Juan Bazaar she cameW
To eat the bread of infamyE
And take the wage of shameW
-
She held a dozen men to heelY
Rich spoil of war was hersR
In hose and gown and ring and chainN
From twenty marinersR
And by Port Law that week men calledZ
Her Salem Hardieker'sR
-
But seamen learnt what landsmen knowM
That neither gifts nor gainN
Can hold a winking Light o' LoveA2
Or Fancy's flight restrainN
When Anne of Austria rolled her eyesR
On Hans the blue eyed DaneN
-
Since Life is strife and strife means knifeB2
From Howrah to the BayS
And he may die before the dawnC2
Who liquored out the dayS
In Fultah Fisher's boarding houseR
We woo while yet we mayS
-
But cold was Hans the blue eyed DaneN
Bull throated bare of armO
And laughter shook the chest beneathG
The maid Ultruda's charmO
The little silver crucifixR
That keeps a man from harmO
-
quot You speak to Salem HardiekerM
quot You was his girl I knowM
quot I ship mineselfs to morrow seeR
quot Und round the Skaw we goM
quot South down the Cattegat by HjelmD2
quot To Besser in Saro quotS
-
When love rejected turns to hateS
All ill betide the manE2
quot You speak to Salem Hardieker quotS
She spoke as woman canE2
A scream a sob quot He called me names quotS
And then the fray beganE2
-
An oath from Salem HardiekerM
A shriek upon the stairsR
A dance of shadows on the wallF2
A knife thrust unawaresR
And Hans came down as cattle dropG2
Across the broken chairsR
-
-
-
In Anne of Austria's trembling handsR
The weary head fell lowM
quot I ship mineselfs to morrow straightS
quot For Besser in SaroM
quot Und there Ultruda comes to meR
quot At Easter und I goM
-
quot South down the Cattegat What's hereM
quot There are no lights to guide quotS
The mutter ceased the spirit passedS
And Anne of Austria criedS
In Fultah Fisher's boarding houseR
When Hans the mighty diedS
-
Thus slew they Hans the blue eyed DaneN
Bull throated bare of armO
But Anne of Austria looted firstS
The maid Ultruda's charmO
The little silver crucifixR
That keeps a man from harmO

Rudyard Kipling



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