Mulholland's Contract Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AAA BBB CCC DDD AAA EEF BBB GGH IIH HHH JKJ LMM NNO PPP| The fear was on the cattle for the gale was on the sea | A |
| An' the pens broke up on the lower deck an' let the creatures free | A |
| An' the lights went out on the lower deck an' no one near but me | A |
| - | |
| I had been singin' to them to keep 'em quiet there | B |
| For the lower deck is the dangerousest requirin' constant care | B |
| An' give to me as the strongest man though used to drink and swear | B |
| - | |
| I see my chance was certain of bein' horned or trod | C |
| For the lower deck was packed with steers thicker'n peas in a pod | C |
| An' more pens broke at every roll so I made a Contract with God | C |
| - | |
| An' by the terms of the Contract as I have read the same | D |
| If He got me to port alive I would exalt His Name | D |
| An' praise His Holy Majesty till further orders came | D |
| - | |
| He saved me from the cattle an' He saved me from the sea | A |
| For they found me 'tween two drownded ones where the roll had landed me | A |
| An' a four inch crack on top of my head as crazy as could be | A |
| - | |
| But that were done by a stanchion an' not by a bullock at all | E |
| An' I lay still for seven weeks convalessing of the fall | E |
| An' readin' the shiny Scripture texts in the Seaman's Hospital | F |
| - | |
| An' I spoke to God of our Contract an' He says to my prayer | B |
| quot I never puts on My ministers no more than they can bear | B |
| So back you go to the cattle boats an' preach My Gospel there | B |
| - | |
| quot For human life is chancy at any kind of trade | G |
| But most of all as well you know when the steers are mad afraid | G |
| So you go back to the cattle boats an' preach 'em as I've said | H |
| - | |
| quot They must quit drinkin' an' swearin' they mustn't knife on a blow | I |
| They must quit gamblin' their wages and you must preach it so | I |
| For now those boats are more like Hell than anything else I know quot | H |
| - | |
| I didn't want to do it for I knew what I should get | H |
| An' I wanted to preach Religion handsome an' out of the wet | H |
| But the Word of the Lord were lain on me an' I done what I was set | H |
| - | |
| I have been smit an' bruis ed as warned would be the case | J |
| An' turned my cheek to the smiter exactly as Scripture says | K |
| But following that I knocked him down an' led him up to Grace | J |
| - | |
| An' we have preaching on Sundays whenever the sea is calm | L |
| An' I use no knife or pistol an' I never take no harm | M |
| For the Lord abideth back of me to guide my fighting arm | M |
| - | |
| An' I sign for four pound ten a month and save the money clear | N |
| An' I am in charge of the lower deck an' I never lose a steer | N |
| An' I believe in Almighty God an' preach His Gospel here | O |
| - | |
| The skippers say I'm crazy but I can prove 'em wrong | P |
| For I am in charge of the lower deck with all that doth belong | P |
| Which they would not give to a lunatic and the competition so strong | P |
Rudyard Kipling
(1)
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