Of Three Children Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: AB CD ED FG FG FG HI HI JK J LM LM NO NN KK KK PD PD CN CN EN NQ NQ NQ NQ RQ RQ RQ RQ NQ NNQ ST SST NU NU VR V WX DX YZ YZ QK QK NQ NQ PN A2N A2A2N NN NN N B2C2 D2C2 QQQC2 E2N E2N KQ KKQ F2N F2N AD AD NQ NQ KN K G2D2 H2B2 NB2 NN NN I2I2NB2D2N EECN KKKN

OF THREE CHILDREN CHOOSINGA
A CHAPLET OF VERSEB
-
You and I and Burd so blitheC
Burd so blithe and you and ID
-
The Mower he would whet his scytheE
Before the dew was dryD
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And he woke soon but we woke soonF
And drew the nursery blindG
-
All wondering at the waning moonF
With the small June roses twinedG
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Low in her cradle swung the moonF
With an elfin dawn behindG
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In whispers while our elders sleptH
We knelt and said our prayersI
-
And dress'd us and on tiptoe creptH
Adown the creaking stairsI
-
The world's possessors lay abedJ
And all the world was oursK
-
'Nay nay but hark the Mower's treadJ
And we must save the flowers '-
-
The Mower knew not rest nor hasteL
That old unweary manM
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But we were young We paused and racedL
And gather'd while we ranM
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O youth is careless youth is fleetN
With heart and wing of birdO
-
The lark flew up beneath our feetN
To his copse the pheasant whirr'dN
-
The cattle from their darkling lairsK
Heaved up and stretch'd themselvesK
-
Almost they trod at unawaresK
Upon the busy elvesK
-
That dropp'd their spools of gossamerP
To dangle and to dryD
-
And scurried home to the hollow firP
Where the white owl winks an eyeD
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Nor you nor I nor Burd so blitheC
Had driven them in this hasteN
-
But the old old man so lean and litheC
That afar behind us pacedN
-
So lean and lithe with shoulder'd scytheE
And a whetstone at his waistN
-
Within the gate in a grassy roundN
Whence they had earliest flownQ
-
He upside down'd his scythe and groundN
Its edge with careful honeQ
-
But we heeded not if we heard the soundN
For the world was ours aloneQ
-
The world was ours and with a boundN
The conquering Sun upshoneQ
-
And while as from his level rayR
We stood our eyes to screenQ
-
The world was not as yesterdayR
Our homelier world had beenQ
-
So grey and golden green it layR
All in his quiet sheenQ
-
That wove the gold into the greyR
The grey into the greenQ
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Sure never hand of Puck nor wandN
Of Mab the fairies' queenQ
-
Nor prince nor peer of fairylandN
Had power to weave that wide ribandN
Of the grey the gold the greenQ
-
But the Gods of Greece had been beforeS
And walked our meads alongT
-
The great authentic Gods of yoreS
That haunt the earth from shore to shoreS
Trailing their robes of songT
-
And where a sandall'd foot had brush'dN
And where a scarfed hemU
-
The flowers awoke from sleep and rush'dN
Like children after themU
-
Pell mell they poured by vale and streamV
By lawn and steepy braeR
-
'O children children while you dreamV
Your flowers run all away '-
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But afar and abed and sleepilyW
The children heard us callX
-
And Burd so blithe and you and ID
Must be gatherers for allX
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The meadow sweet beside the hedgeY
The dog rose and the vetchZ
-
The sworded iris 'mid the sedgeY
The mallow by the ditchZ
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With these and by the wimpling burnQ
Where the midges danced in reelsK
-
With the watermint and the lady fernQ
We brimm'd out wicker creelsK
-
Till all so heavily they weigh'dN
On a bank we flung us downQ
-
Shook out our treasures 'neath the shadeN
And wove this Triple CrownQ
-
Flower after flower for some there wereP
The noonday heats had driedN
-
And some were dear yet could not bearA2
A lovelier cheek besideN
-
And some were perfect past compareA2
Ah darlings what a world of careA2
It cost us to decideN
-
Natheless we sang in sweet accordN
Each bending o'er her bredeN
-
'O there be flowers in OxenfordN
And flowers be north of TweedN
-
And flowers there be on earthly swardN
That owe no mortal seed '-
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And these the brightest that we woveB2
Were Innocence and TruthC2
-
And holy Peace and angel LoveD2
Glad Hope and gentle RuthC2
-
Ah bind them fast with triple twineQ
Of Memory the wild woodbineQ
That still being human stays divineQ
And alone is age's youthC2
-
But hark but look the warning rookE2
Wings home in level flightN
-
The children tired with play and bookE2
Have kiss'd and call'd Good nightN
-
Ah sisters look What fields be theseK
That lie so sad and shornQ
-
What hand has cut our coppicesK
And thro' the trimm'd the ruin'd treesK
Lets wail a wind forlornQ
-
'Tis Time 'tis Time has done this crimeF2
And laid our meadows wasteN
-
The bent unwearied tyrant TimeF2
That knows nor rest nor hasteN
-
Yet courage children homeward bringA
Your hearts your garlands highD
-
For we have dared to do a thingA
That shall his worst defyD
-
We cannot nail the dial's handN
We cannot bind the sunQ
-
By Gibeon to stay and standN
Or the moon o'er AjalonQ
-
We cannot blunt th' abhorred shearsK
Nor shift the skeins of FateN
-
Nor say unto the posting yearsK
'Ye shall not desolate '-
-
We cannot cage the lion's rageG2
Nor teach the turtle doveD2
-
Beside what well his moan to tellH2
Or to haunt one only groveB2
-
But the lion's brood will range for foodN
As the fledged bird will roveB2
-
And east and west we three may wendN
Yet we a wreath have woundN
-
For us shall wind withouten endN
The wide wide world aroundN
-
Be it east or west and ne'er so farI2
In east or west shall peep no starI2
No blossom break from groundN
But minds us of the wreath we woveB2
Of innocence and holy loveD2
That in the meads we foundN
-
And handsell'd from the Mower's scytheE
And bound with memory's living witheE
You and I and Burd so blitheC
Three maidens on a moundN
-
And all of happiness was oursK
Shall find remembrance 'mid the flowersK
Shall take revival from the flowersK
And by the flowers be crown'dN

Sir Arthur Quiller-couch



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