The Fountain Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFDGHI JKLMNDEOPQ RSTUVEWXY ZA2B2C2D2E2F2DG2H2 I2BKF2KJ2F2YK2L2F2M2 N2BF2O2P2J2Q2R2PBF2B S2 F2T2F2BBPU2V2W2X2F2Y 2 J2BZ2RA3B3F2F2Y2KC3F 2O2KD3E3F3G3H3I3J3F2 K3 BL3M3N2M3BN3F2O3P3F2 T2BQ3YF2BR3S3T3A3F2U 3 V3W3X3KN2BY3P2Z3A4F2 B4C4BD4

Fountain that springest on this grassy slopeA
Thy quick cool murmur mingles pleasantlyB
With the cool sound of breezes in the beachC
Above me in the noontide Thou dost wearD
No stain of thy dark birthplace gushing upE
From the red mould and slimy roots of earthF
Thou flashest in the sun The mountain airD
In winter is not clearer nor the dewG
That shines on mountain blossom Thus doth GodH
Bring from the dark and foul the pure and brightI
-
This tangled thicket on the bank aboveJ
Thy basin how thy waters keep it greenK
For thou dost feed the roots of the wild vineL
That trails all over it and to the twigsM
Ties fast her clusters There the spice bush liftsN
Her leafy lances the viburnum thereD
Paler of foliage to the sun holds upE
Her circlet of green berries In and outO
The chipping sparrow in her coat of brownP
Steals silently lest I should mark her nestQ
-
Not such thou wert of yore ere yet the axeR
Had smitten the old woods Then hoary trunksS
Of oak and plane and hickory o'er thee heldT
A mighty canopy When April windsU
Grew soft the maple burst into a flushV
Of scarlet flowers The tulip tree high upE
Opened in airs of June her multitudeW
Of golden chalices to humming birdsX
And silken winged insects of the skyY
-
Frail wood plants clustered round thy edge in SpringZ
The liverleaf put forth her sister bloomsA2
Of faintest blue Here the quick footed wolfB2
Passing to lap thy waters crushed the flowerC2
Of sanguinaria from whose brittle stemD2
The red drops fell like blood The deer too leftE2
Her delicate foot print in the soft moist mouldF2
And on the fallen leaves The slow paced bearD
In such a sultry summer noon as thisG2
Stopped at thy stream and drank and leaped acrossH2
-
But thou hast histories that stir the heartI2
With deeper feeling while I look on theeB
They rise before me I behold the sceneK
Hoary again with forests I beholdF2
The Indian warrior whom a hand unseenK
Has smitten with his death wound in the woodsJ2
Creep slowly to thy well known rivuletF2
And slake his death thirst Hark that quick fierce cryY
That rends the utter silence 'tis the whoopK2
Of battle and a throng of savage menL2
With naked arms and faces stained like bloodF2
Fill the green wilderness the long bare armsM2
Are heaved aloft bows twang and arrows streamN2
Each makes a tree his shield and every treeB
Sends forth its arrow Fierce the fight and shortF2
As is the whirlwind Soon the conquerorsO2
And conquered vanish and the dead remainP2
Mangled by tomahawks The mighty woodsJ2
Are still again the frighted bird comes backQ2
And plumes her wings but thy sweet waters runR2
Crimson with blood Then as the sun goes downP
Amid the deepening twilight I descryB
Figures of men that crouch and creep unheardF2
And bear away the dead The next day's showerB
Shall wash the tokens of the fight awayS2
-
I look again a hunter's lodge is builtF2
With poles and boughs beside thy crystal wellT2
While the meek autumn stains the woods with goldF2
And sheds his golden sunshine To the doorB
The red man slowly drags the enormous bearB
Slain in the chestnut thicket or flings downP
The deer from his strong shoulders Shaggy fellsU2
Of wolf and cougar hang upon the wallsV2
And loud the black eyed Indian maidens laughW2
That gather from the rustling heaps of leavesX2
The hickory's white nuts and the dark fruitF2
That falls from the gray butternut's long boughsY2
-
So centuries passed by and still the woodsJ2
Blossomed in spring and reddened when the yearB
Grew chill and glistened in the frozen rainsZ2
Of winter till the white man swung the axeR
Beside thee signal of a mighty changeA3
Then all around was heard the crash of treesB3
Trembling awhile and rushing to the groundF2
The low of ox and shouts of men who firedF2
The brushwood or who tore the earth with ploughsY2
The grain sprang thick and tall and hid in greenK
The blackened hill side ranks of spiky maizeC3
Rose like a host embattled the buckwheatF2
Whitened broad acres sweetening with its flowersO2
The August wind White cottages were seenK
With rose trees at the windows barns from whichD3
Came loud and shrill the crowing of the cockE3
Pastures where rolled and neighed the lordly horseF3
And white flocks browsed and bleated A rich turfG3
Of grasses brought from far o'ercrept thy bankH3
Spotted with the white clover Blue eyed girlsI3
Brought pails and dipped them in thy crystal poolJ3
And children ruddy cheeked and flaxen hairedF2
Gathered the glistening cowslip from thy edgeK3
-
Since then what steps have trod thy border HereB
On thy green bank the woodmann of the swampL3
Has laid his axe the reaper of the hillM3
His sickle as they stooped to taste thy streamN2
The sportsman tired with wandering in the stillM3
September noon has bathed his heated browB
In thy cool current Shouting boys let looseN3
For a wild holiday have quaintly shapedF2
Into a cup the folded linden leafO3
And dipped thy sliding crystal From the warsP3
Returning the plumed soldier by thy sideF2
Has sat and mused how pleasant 'twere to dwellT2
In such a spot and be as free as thouB
And move for no man's bidding more At eveQ3
When thou wert crimson with the crimson skyY
Lovers have gazed upon thee and have thoughtF2
Their mingled lives should flow as peacefullyB
And brightly as thy waters Here the sageR3
Gazing into thy self replenished depthS3
Has seen eternal order circumscribeT3
And bind the motions of eternal changeA3
And from the gushing of thy simple fountF2
Has reasoned to the mighty universeU3
-
Is there no other change for thee that lurksV3
Among the future ages Will not manW3
Seek out strange arts to wither and deformX3
The pleasant landscape which thou makest greenK
Or shall the veins that feed thy constant streamN2
Be choked in middle earth and flow no moreB
For ever that the water plants alongY3
Thy channel perish and the bird in vainP2
Alight to drink Haply shall these green hillsZ3
Sink with the lapse of years into the gulfA4
Of ocean waters and thy source be lostF2
Amidst the bitter brine Or shall they riseB4
Upheaved in broken cliffs and airy peaksC4
Haunts of the eagle and the snake and thouB
Gush midway from the bare and barren steepD4

William Cullen Bryant



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