Analysis of ~Araluen~
Henry Kendall 1839 (Australia) – 1882 (Sydney)
River, myrtle rimmed, and set
Deep amongst unfooted dells—
Daughter of grey hills of wet,
Born by mossed and yellow wells;
Now that soft September lays
Tender hands on thee and thine,
Let me think of blue-eyed days,
Star-like flowers and leaves of shine!
Cities soil the life with rust;
Water banks are cool and sweet;
River, tired of noise and dust,
Here I come to rest my feet.
Now the month from shade to sun
Fleets and sings supremest songs,
Now the wilful wood-winds run
Through the tangled cedar throngs.
Here are cushioned tufts and turns
Where the sumptuous noontide lies:
Here are seen by flags and ferns
Summer’s large, luxurious eyes.
On this spot wan Winter casts
Eyes of ruth, and spares its green
From his bitter sea-nursed blasts,
Spears of rain and hailstones keen.
Rather here abideth Spring,
Lady of a lovely land,
Dear to leaf and fluttering wing,
Deep in blooms—by breezes fanned.
Faithful friend beyond the main,
Friend that time nor change makes cold;
Now, like ghosts, return again
Pallid, perished days of old.
Ah, the days!—the old, old theme,
Never stale, but never new,
Floating like a pleasant dream,
Back to me and back to you.
Since we rested on these slopes
Seasons fierce have beaten down
Ardent loves and blossoming hopes—
Loves that lift and hopes that crown.
But, believe me, still mine eyes
Often fill with light that springs
From divinity, which lies
Ever at the heart of things.
Solace do I sometimes find
Where you used to hear with me
Songs of stream and forest wind,
Tones of wave and harp-like tree.
Araluen—home of dreams,
Fairer for its flowerful glade
Than the face of Persian streams
Or the slopes of Syrian shade;
Why should I still love it so,
Friend and brother far away?
Ask the winds that come and go,
What hath brought me here to-day.
Evermore of you I think,
When the leaves begin to fall,
Where our river breaks its brink,
And a rest is over all.
Evermore in quiet lands,
Friend of mine beyond the sea,
Memory comes with cunning hands,
Stays, and paints your face for me.
Scheme | ABABBCBC DEDE FBFB BBBB BGBG HIHI XJXJ KLKL BMBM BBBB NONO BPBP BQXQ RSRS BBBO |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010101 10111 1011111 1110101 1110101 1011101 1111111 11100111 1010111 1011101 10101101 1111111 1011111 10111 101111 1010101 1110101 101011 1111101 10101001 1111101 1110111 1110111 111011 10111 1010101 11101001 1011101 1010101 1111111 1110101 1010111 1010111 1011101 1010101 1110111 1110111 1011101 10101001 1110111 1011111 1011111 1010011 1010111 1011011 1111111 1110101 1110111 1111 101111 1011101 10111001 1111111 1010101 1011101 1111111 101111 1010111 11010111 0011101 100101 1110101 10011101 1011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,141 |
Words | 364 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 64 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 106 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:49 min read
- 44 Views
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"~Araluen~" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17425/%7Earaluen%7E>.
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