The Missionary - Canto Second Poem Rhyme Scheme

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The night was still and clear when o'er the snows	A
Andes thy melancholy Spirit rose	A
A shadow stern and sad he stood alone	B
Upon the topmost mountain's burning cone	B
And whilst his eyes shone dim through surging smoke	C
Thus to the spirits of the fire he spoke	C
	-
Ye who tread the hidden deeps	A
Where the silent earthquake sleeps	A
Ye who track the sulphurous tide	D
Or on hissing vapours ride	D
Spirits come	E
From worlds of subterraneous night	F
From fiery realms of lurid light	F
From the ore's unfathomed bed	G
From the lava's whirlpools red	G
Spirits come	E
On Chili's foes rush with vindictive sway	H
And sweep them from the light of living day	H
Heard ye not the ravenous brood	I
That flap their wings and scream for blood	J
On Peru's devoted shore	K
Their murderous beaks are red with gore	K
Yet here impatient for new prey	H
The insatiate vultures track their way	H
Let them perish they whose bands	A
Swept remote and peaceful lands	A
Let them perish on their head	G
Descend the darkness of the dead	G
Spirits now your caves forsake	L
Hark ten thousand warriors wake	L
Spirits their high cause defend	M
From your caves ascend ascend	M
	-
As thus the Genius of the Andes spoke	C
The trembling mountain heaved with darker smoke	C
Lightnings and phantom forms by fits appeared	N
His mighty voice far off Osorno heard	O
The caverned deeps shook through their vast profound	P
And Chimborazzo's height rolled back the sound	P
With lifted arm and towering stature high	Q
And aspect frowning to the middle sky	Q
Its misty form dilated in the wind	R
The phantom stood till less and less defined	R
Into thin air it faded from the sight	F
Lost in the ambient haze of slow returning light	F
Its feathery seeming crown its giant spear	S
Its limbs of huge proportion disappear	S
And the bare mountains to the dawn disclose	A
The same long line of solitary snows	A
The morning shines the military train	T
Streams far and wide along the tented plain	T
And plaited cuirasses and helms of steel	U
Throw back the sunbeams as the horsemen wheel	U
Thus with arms glancing to the eastern light	F
Pass in review proud steeds and cohorts bright	F
For all the host by break of morrow's gray	H
Wind back their march to Penco's northern bay	H
Valdivia fearful lest confederate foes	A
Ambushed and dark his progress might oppose	A
Marshals to day the whole collected force	A
File and artillery cuirassier and horse	A
Himself yet lingers ere he joins the train	T
That moves in ordered march along the plain	T
While troops and Indian slaves beneath his eye	Q
The labours of the rising city ply	Q
Wide glows the general toil the mole extends	A
The watch tower o'er the desert surge ascends	A
And battlements and rising ramparts shine	V
Above the ocean's blue and level line	V
The sun ascended to meridian height	F
And all the northern bastions shone in light	F
With hoarse acclaim the gong and trumpet rung	W
The Moorish slaves aloft their cymbals swung	W
When the proud victor in triumphant state	X
Rode forth in arms through the portcullis' gate	X
With neck high arching as he smote the ground	P
And restless pawing to the trumpet's sound	P
With mantling mane o'er his broad shoulders spread	G
And nostrils blowing and dilated red	G
The coal black steed in rich caparison	V
Far trailing to the ground went proudly on	V
Proudly he tramped as conscious of his charge	Y
And turned around his eye balls bright and large	Y
And shook the frothy boss as in disdain	V
And tossed the flakes indignant off his mane	V
And with high swelling veins exulting pressed	Z
Proudly against the barb his heaving breast	Z
The fate of empires glowing in his thought	A2
Thus armed the tented field Valdivia sought	A2
On the left side his poised shield he bore	K
With quaint devices richly blazoned o'er	B2
Above the plumes upon his helmet's cone	V
Castile's imperial crest illustrious shone	V
Blue in the wind the escutcheoned mantle flowed	C2
O'er the chained mail which tinkled as he rode	C2
The barred vizor raised you might discern	V
His clime changed countenance though pale yet stern	V
And resolute as death whilst in his eye	Q
Sat proud Assurance Fame and Victory	D2
Lautaro now in manhood's rising pride	D
Rode with a lance attendant at his side	D
In Spanish mantle gracefully arrayed	E2
Upon his brow a tuft of feathers played	E2
His glossy locks with dark and mantling grace	A
Shaded the noonday sunbeams on his face	A
Though passed in tears the dayspring of his youth	F2
Valdivia loved his gratitude and truth	F2
He in Valdivia owned a nobler friend	M
Kind to protect and mighty to defend	M
So on he rode upon his youthful mien	V
A mild but sad intelligence was seen	V
Courage was on his open brow yet care	G2
Seemed like a wandering shade to linger there	G2
And though his eye shone as the eagle's bright	F
It beamed with humid melancholy light	F
When now Valdivia saw the embattled line	V
Helmets and swords and shields and matchlocks shine	V
Now the long phalanx still and steady stand	H2
Fixed every eye and motionless each hand	H2
Then slowly clustering into columns wheel	U
Each with the red cross banners of Castile	U
While trumps and drums and cymbals to his ear	I2
Made music such as soldiers love to hear	I2
While horsemen checked their steeds or bending low	U
With levelled lances o'er the saddle bow	J2
Rode gallantly at tilt and thunders broke	C
Instant involving van and rear in smoke	C
Till winds the obscuring volume rolled away	H
And the red file stretched out in long array	H
More radiant moved beneath the beams of day	H
While ensigns arms and crosses glittered bright	F
Philip he cried seest thou the glorious sight	F
And dost thou deem the tribes of this poor land	H2
Can men and arms and steeds like these withstand	H2
Forgive the youth replied and checked a tear	G2
The land where my forefathers sleep is dear	S
My native land this spot of blessed earth	K2
The scene where I and all I love had birth	K2
What gratitude fidelity can give	L2
Is yours my lord you shielded bade me live	M2
When in the circuit of the world so wide	D
I had but one one only friend beside	D
I bowed resigned to fate I kissed the hand	H2
Red with the best blood of my father's land	H2
But mighty as thou art Valdivia know	U
Though Cortes' desolating march laid low	U
The shrines of rich voluptuous Mexico	U
With carcases though proud Pizarro strew	N2
The Sun's imperial temple in Peru	N2
Yet the rude dwellers of this land are brave	O2
And the last spot they lose will be their grave	O2
A moment's crimson crossed Valdivia's cheek	P2
Then o'er the plain he spurred nor deigned to speak	P2
Waving the youth at distance to retire	Q2
None saw the eye that shot terrific fire	B2
As their commander sternly rode along	R2
Troop after troop halted the martial throng	R2
And all the pennoned trumps a louder blast	S2
Blew as the Southern World's great victor passed	S2
Lautaro turned scarce heeding from the view	N2
And from the noise of trumps and drums withdrew	N2
And now while troubled thoughts his bosom swell	U
Seeks the gray Missionary's humble cell	U
Fronting the ocean but beyond the ken	V
Of public view and sounds of murmuring men	V
Of unhewn roots composed and gnarled wood	T2
A small and rustic oratory stood	T2
Upon its roof of reeds appeared a cross	A
The porch within was lined with mantling moss	A
A crucifix and hour glass on each side	D
One to admonish seemed and one to guide	D
This to impress how soon life's race is o'er	B2
And that to lift our hopes where time shall be no more	K
O'er the rude porch with wild and gadding stray	H
The clustering copu weaved its trellis gay	H
Two mossy pines high bending interwove	N2
Their aged and fantastic arms above	N2
In front amid the gay surrounding flowers	A
A dial counted the departing hours	A
On which the sweetest light of summer shone	V
A rude and brief inscription marked the stone	V
To count with passing shade the hours	A
I placed the dial 'mi	E

William Lisle Bowles

The Missionary - Canto Second Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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