The Legend Of Kintu. Poem Rhyme Scheme

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Susan Coolidge (sarah Chauncey Woolsey)

The Legend Of Kintu. Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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When earth was young and men were few	A
And all things freshly born and new	A
Seemed made for blessing not for ban	B
Kintu the god appeared as man	B
Clad in the plain white priestly dress	C
He journeyed through the wilderness	D
His wife beside A mild faced cow	E
They drove and one low bleating lamb	F
He bore a ripe banana bough	E
And she a root of fruitful yam	F
This was their worldly worth and store	G
But God can make the little more	G
The glad earth knew his feet her mould	H
Trembled with quickening thrills and stirred	I
Miraculous harvests spread and rolled	H
The orchards shone with ruddy gold	H
The flocks increased increased the herd	I
And a great nation spread and grew	A
From the swift lineage of the two	A
Peopling the solitary place	J
A fair and strong and fruitful race	J
Who knew not pain nor want nor grief	K
And Kintu reigned their lord and chief	K
	-
So sped three centuries along	L
Till Kintu's sons waxed fierce and strong	L
They learned to war they loved to slay	M
Cruel and dark grew all their faces	N
Discordant death cries scared the day	M
Blood stained the green and holy places	N
And drunk with lust with anger hot	O
His sons mild Kintu heeded not	O
At last the god arose in wrath	P
His sandals tied and down the path	P
His wife beside him as of yore	G
He went A cow a single lamb	F
They took one tuber of the yam	F
One yellow podded branch they bore	G
Of ripe banana these no more	G
Of all the heaped up harvest store	G
They left the huts they left the tent	Q
Nor turned nor cast a backward look	R
Behind the thick boughs met and shook	R
They vanished Long with wild lament	Q
Mourned all the tribe in vain in vain	S
The gift once given was given no more	G
The grieved god came not again	T
	-
To what far paradise they fared	U
That heavenly pair what wilderness	D
Their gentle rule next owned and shared	U
Knoweth no man no man can guess	C
On secret roads by pathways blind	V
The gods go forth and none may find	V
But sad the world where God is not	O
By man was Kintu soon forgot	O
Or named and held as legend dim	W
But the wronged earth remembering him	W
By scanty fruit and tardy grain	S
And silent song revealed her pain	S
So centuries came and centuries went	Q
And heaped the graves and filled the tent	Q
Kings rose and fought their royal way	M
To conquest over heaps of slain	S
And reigned a little Then one day	M
They vanished into dust again	T
And other kings usurped their place	J
Who called themselves of Kintu's race	J
And worshipped Kintu not as he	X
The mild benignant deity	X
Who held all life a holy thing	Y
Be it of insect or of king	Y
Would have ordained but with wild rite	Z
With altars heaped and dolorous cries	A2
And savage dance and bale fires light	Z
An unaccepted sacrifice	B2
At last when thousand years were flown	C2
The great Ma anda filled the throne	C2
A prince of generous heart and high	D2
Impetuous noble fierce and true	A
His wrath like lightning hurtling by	D2
His pardon like the healing dew	A
And chiefs and sages swore each one	E2
He was great Kintu's worthiest son	E2
	-
One night in forests still and deep	F2
A shepherd sat to watch his sheep	F2
And started as through darkness dim	W
A strange voice rang and calmed to him	W
Wake there are wonders waiting thee	X
Go where the thick mimosas be	X
Fringing a little open plain	S
Honor and power wouldest thou gain	S
Go foolish man to fortune blind	V
Follow the stream and thou shall find	V
Three several nights the voice was heard	I
Louder and more emphatic grown	C2
Then at the thrice repeated word	I
The shepherd rose and went alone	C2
Threading the mazes of the stream	G2
Like one who wanders in a dream	G2
Long miles he ran the stream beside	H2
Which this way that way turned and sped	I2
And called and sang a noisy guide	H2
At last its vagrant dances led	I2
To where the thick mimosas' shade	J2
Circled and fringed an open glade	J2
There the wild streamlet danced away	M
The moon was shining strangely white	Z
And by its fitful gleaming ray	M
The shepherd saw a wondrous sight	Z
In the glade's midst each on his mat	K2
A group of armed warriors sat	K2
White robed majestic with deep eyes	A2
Fixed on him with a stern surprise	A2
And in their midst an aged chief	K
Enthroned sat whose beard like foam	L2
Caressed his mighty knees As leaf	K
Shakes in the wind the shepherd shook	R
And veiled his eyes before that look	R
And prayed and thought upon his home	L2
Nor spoke nor moved till the old man	B
In voice like waterfall began	B
Shepherd how names himself thy king	Y
Ma anda answered shuddering	Y
The shepherd Good thou speakest well	M2
And now my son I bid thee tell	M2
Thy first king's name It was Kintu	K2
'Tis rightly said thou answerest true	A
Hark To Ma anda Kintu's son	E2
Hasten and bid him fearing naught	K2
Come hither taking thee for guide	K2
Thou and he not another one	E2
Not even a dog may run beside	K2
Long has Ma anda Kintu sought	K2
With spell and conjuration dim	W
Now Kintu has a word for him	W
Go do thy errand haste thee hence	N2
Kintu insures thy recompense	N2
All night the shepherd ran star led	K2
All the hot day he hastened straight	K2
Nor stopped for sleep nor stopped for bread	K2
Until he reached the city gate	K2
And saw red rays of evening fall	O2
On the leaf hutted capital	P2
He sought the king his tale he told	K2
Ma anda faltered not nor stayed	K2
He seized his spear he left the tent	K2
Shook off the brown arms of his queens	Q2
Who clasped his knees with wailing screams	R2
On pain of instant death forbade	K2
That man should spy or follow him	W
And down the pathway arching dim	W
Fearless and light of heart and bold	K2
Followed the shepherd where he went	K2
	-
But one there was who loved his king	Y
Too well to suffer such strange thing	Y
The chieftain of the host was he	X
Next to the monarch in degree	X
And fearing wile or stratagem	S2
Menaced the king he followed them	T2
With noiseless tread and out of sight	K2
So on they fared the forest through	A
From evening shades to dawning light	K2
From damning to the dusk and dew	A
The unseen follower and the two	A
Ofttimes the king turned back to scan	B
The path but never saw he man	B
At last the forest guarded space	J
They reached where ranged in order sat	K2
Each couched upon his braided mat	K2
The white robed warriors face to face	J
With their majestic chief The king	Y
Albeit unused to fear or awe	U2
Bowed down in homage wondering	Y
And bent his eyes as fearing to be	X
Blinded by rays of deity	X
Then asked the mighty voice and calm	V2
Art thou Ma anda called I am	F
And art thou king The king am I	D2
The bold Ma anda made reply	D2
Tis rightly spoken but my son	E2
Why hast thou my command forgot	K2
That no man with thee to this spot	K2
Should come except thy guide alone	C2
No man has come Ma anda said	K2
	-
Alone we journeyed he and I	D2
And often have I turned my head	K2
And never living thing could spy	D2
None is there on my faith as king	Y
A king's word is a weighty thing	Y
The old man answered Let it be	X
But still a man HAS followed thee	X
Now answer Ma anda one more thing	Y
Who first of all thy line was king	Y
Kintu the god 'Tis well my son	E2
All creatures Kintu loved not one	E2
Too pitiful or weak or small	O2
He knew them and he loved them all	O2
And never did a living thing	Y
Or bird in air or fish in lake	W2
Endure a pang for Kintu's sake	W2
Then rose his sons of differing mind	K2
Who gorged on cruel feasts each day	K2
And bathed in blood and joyed to slay	K2
And laughed at pain and suffering	Y
Then Kintu sadly went his way	K2
The gods long suffering are and kind	K2
Often they pardon long they wait	K2
But men are evil men are blind	K2
After much tarriance much debate	K2
The good gods leave them to their fate	K2
So Kintu went where none may find	K2
	-
Each king in turn has sought since then	T
From Chora down the first in line	X2
To win lost Kintu back to men	T
Vain was his search and vain were thine	X2
Save that the gods have special grace	J
To thee Ma anda Face to face	J
With Kintu thou shall stand and he	X
Shall speak the word of power to thee	X
Clasped to his bosom thou shall share	Y2
His knowledge of the earth the air	Y2
And deep things secret things shall learn	Z2
But stay the old man's voice grew stern	Z2
Before I further speak declare	Y2
Who is that man in ambush there	Y2
There is no man no man I see	X
Deny no longer it is vain	S
Within the shadow of the tree	X
He lurketh lo behold him plain	S
And the king saw for at the word	K2
From covert stole the hidden spy	D2
And sought his monarch's side One cry	D2
A lion's roar Ma anda gave	A3
Then seized his spear and poised and drave	A3
Like lightning bolt it hissed and whirred	K2
A flash across the midnight blue	A
A single groan a jet of red	K2
And pierced and stricken through and through	A
Upon the ground the chief fell dead	K2
But still with love no death could chase	J
His eyes sought out his master's face	J
	-
Blent with Ma anda's a wild cry	D2
Of many voices rose on high	D2
A shriek of anguish and despair	Y2
Which shook and filled the startled air	Y2
And when the king his wrath still hot	K2
Turned him the little grassy plain	S
All lonely in the moonlight lay	K2
The chiefs had vanished all away	K2
As melted into thin blue wind	K2
Gone was the old man Stunned and blind	K2
For a long moment stood the king	Y
He tried to wake he rubbed his eyes	A2
As though some fearful dream to end	K2
It was no dream this fearful thing	Y
There was the forest there the skies	A2
The shepherd and his murdered friend	K2
With feverish haste bewildered mazed	K2
This way and that he vainly sped	K2
Beating the air like one half crazed	K2
With prayers and cries unnumbered	K2
Searching imploring vain all vain	S
Only the echoing woods replied	K2
With mocking booms their long aisles through	A
Come back Kintu Kintu Kintu	K2
And pitiless to all his pain	S
The unanswering gods his suit denied	K2
At last as dawning slowly crept	K2
To day the king sank down and wept	K2
A space then lifting as they could	K2
The lifeless burden once a man	B
He and the shepherd guide began	B
Their grievous journey through the wood	K2
The long and hard and dreary way	K2
Trodden so lightly yesterday	K2
And the third day at evening's fall	O2
Gained the leaf hutted capital	P2
There burial rites were duly paid	K2
	-
Like bridegroom decked for banqueting	Y
The chief adorned his funeral pyre	B3
Rare gums and spices fed the fire	B3
Perfumes and every precious thing	Y
And songs were sung and prayers were prayed	K2
And priests danced jubilant all day	K2
But prone the king Ma anda lay	K2
With ashes on his royal crest	K2
And groaned and beat upon his breast	K2
And called on Kintu loud and wild	K2
Father come back forgive thy child	K2
Bitter the cry but vain all vain	S
The grieved god came not again	T