The Sea-bird Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDEEDDFFCCGGHI JKLLMMNNOPQQ RREEGGSSTTUUDDVVTTWW JJXXYYZZA2A2WWB2B2C2 C2D2D2UUE2E2JJ KJCCE2E2F2F2G2G2HHWW RRH2H2I2I2G2G2QQFar far o'er the deep is my island throne | A |
Where the sea gull roams and reigns alone | A |
Where nought is seen but the beetling rock | B |
And nought is heard but the ocean shock | B |
And the scream of birds when the storm is nigh | C |
And the crash of the wreck and the fearful cry | C |
Of drowning men in their agony | D |
I love to sit when the waters sleep | E |
And ponder the depths of the glassy deep | E |
Till I dream that I float on a corse at sea | D |
And sing of the feast that is made for me | D |
I love on the rush of the storm to sail | F |
And mingle my scream with the hoarser gale | F |
When the sky is dark and the billow high | C |
When the tempest sweeps in its terror by | C |
I love to ride on the maddening blast | G |
To flap my wing o'er the fated mast | G |
And sing to the crew a song of fear | H |
Of the reef and the surge that await them here | I |
- | |
When the storm is done and the revel is o'er | J |
I love to sit on the rocky shore | K |
And tell to the ear of the dying breeze | L |
The tales that are hushed in the sullen seas | L |
Of the ship that sank in the reefy surge | M |
And left her fate to the sea gull's dirge | M |
Of the lover that sailed to meet his bride | N |
And his story gave to the secret tide | N |
Of the father that went on the trustless main | O |
And never was met by his child again | P |
Of the hidden things which the waves conceal | Q |
And the sea bird's song can alone reveal | Q |
- | |
I tell of the ship that hath found a grave | R |
Her spars still float on the restless wave | R |
But down in the halls of the voiceless deep | E |
The forms of the brave and the beautiful sleep | E |
I saw the storm as it gathered fast | G |
I heard the roar of the coming blast | G |
I marked the ship in her fearful strife | S |
As she flew on the tide like a thing of life | S |
But the whirlwind came and her masts were wrung | T |
Away and away on the waters flung | T |
I sat on the gale o'er the sea swept deck | U |
And screamed in delight o'er the coming wreck | U |
I flew to the reef with a heart of glee | D |
And wiled the ship to her destiny | D |
On the hidden rocks like a hawk she rushed | V |
And the sea through her riven timbers gushed | V |
O'er the whirling surge the wreck was flung | T |
And loud on the gale wild voices rung | T |
I gazed on the scene I saw despair | W |
On the pallid brows of a youthful pair | W |
The maiden drooped like a gentle flower | J |
When lashed by the gale in its quivering bower | J |
Her arms round her lover she wildly twined | X |
And gazed on the sea with a wildered mind | X |
He bent o'er the trembler and sheltered her form | Y |
From the plash of the sea and the sweep of the storm | Y |
But woe to the lover and woe to the maid | Z |
Whose hopes on the treacherous deep are laid | Z |
For the Sea hath a King whose palaces shine | A2 |
In lustre and light down the pearly brine | A2 |
And he loves to gather in glory there | W |
The choicest things of the earth and air | W |
In his deep saloons with coral crowned | B2 |
Where gems are sparkling above and around | B2 |
He gathers his harem of love and grace | C2 |
And beauty he takes to his cold embrace | C2 |
The winds and the waves are his messengers true | D2 |
And lost is the wanderer whom they pursue | D2 |
They sweep the shore they plunder the wreck | U |
His stores to heap and his halls to deck | U |
Oh lady and lover ye are doomed their prey | E2 |
They come they come ye are swept away | E2 |
Ye sink in the tide but it cannot sever | J |
The fond ones who sleep in its depths for ever | J |
- | |
Wild wild was the storm and loud was its roar | K |
And strange were the sights that I hovered o'er | J |
I saw the babe with its mother die | C |
I listened to catch its parting sigh | C |
And I laughed to see the black billows play | E2 |
With the sleeping child in their gambols gay | E2 |
I saw a girl whose arms were white | F2 |
As the foam that flashed on the billows' height | F2 |
And the ripples played with her glossy curls | G2 |
And her cheek was kissed by the dancing whirls | G2 |
But her bosom was dead to hope and fear | H |
For she shuddered not as the shark came near | H |
I poised my foot on the forehead fair | W |
Of a lovely boy that floated there | W |
I looked in the eyes of the drowning brave | R |
As they upward gazed through the glassy wave | R |
I screamed o'er the bubbles that told of death | H2 |
And stooped as the last gave up his breath | H2 |
I flapped my wing for the work was done | I2 |
The storm was hushed and the laughing sun | I2 |
Sent his gushing light o'er the sullen seas | G2 |
And I tell my tale to the fainting breeze | G2 |
Of the hidden things which the waves conceal | Q |
And the sea bird's song can alone reveal | Q |
Samuel Griswold Goodrich
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