The Sea-wife Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCB DEFE GAAA HBCB CICI CJCJ KCLC FDFD AMNM DOPO AQRQ SACA| There dwells a wife by the Northern Gate | A |
| And a wealthy wife is she | B |
| She breeds a breed o' rovin' men | C |
| And casts them over sea | B |
| - | |
| And some are drowned in deep water | D |
| And some in sight o' shore | E |
| And word goes back to the weary wife | F |
| And ever she sends more | E |
| - | |
| For since that wife had gate or gear | G |
| Or hearth or garth or bield | A |
| She willed her sons to the white harvest | A |
| And that is a bitter yield | A |
| - | |
| She wills her sons to the wet ploughing | H |
| To ride the horse of tree | B |
| And syne her sons come back again | C |
| Far spent from out the sea | B |
| - | |
| The good wife's sons come home again | C |
| With little into their hands | I |
| But the lore of men that ha' dealt with men | C |
| In the new and naked lands | I |
| - | |
| But the faith of men that ha' brothered men | C |
| By more than easy breath | J |
| And the eyes o' men that ha' read wi' men | C |
| In the open books of death | J |
| - | |
| Rich are they rich in wonders seen | K |
| But poor in the goods o' men | C |
| So what they ha' got by the skin o' their teeth | L |
| They sell for their teeth again | C |
| - | |
| For whether they lose to the naked life | F |
| Or win to their hearts' desire | D |
| They tell it all to the weary wife | F |
| That nods beside the fire | D |
| - | |
| Her hearth is wide to every wind | A |
| That makes the white ash spin | M |
| And tide and tide and 'tween the tides | N |
| Her sons go out and in | M |
| - | |
| Out with great mirth that do desire | D |
| Hazard of trackless ways | O |
| In with content to wait their watch | P |
| And warm before the blaze | O |
| - | |
| And some return by failing light | A |
| And some in waking dream | Q |
| For she hears the heels of the dripping ghosts | R |
| That ride the rough roof beam | Q |
| - | |
| Home they come home from all the ports | S |
| The living and the dead | A |
| The good wife's sons come home again | C |
| For her blessing on their head | A |
Rudyard Kipling
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
About The Sea-wife
The Sea-wife is a poem by Rudyard Kipling. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
Write your comment about The Sea-wife poem by Rudyard Kipling
Best Poems of Rudyard Kipling