Analysis of The Moon Flower

Lala Fisher 1872 (Rockhampton) – 1929



I know a valley- through its solitude
A brown road winds towards a mountain crest;
There gnarly ti-trees dripping sweetness rest,
And grasses bend, too heavily bedowed.
In that still valley by the still lagoon,
A ruined homestead for her secret shrine,
Dwells Beauty's self, half-earthly, half-devine-
Thrilling, I saw her waken to the moon.
In peaks of emerald the cactus crept,
And there o'er rafters falling to decay,
A miracle of flowers, spray on spray,
Burst into perfect life while nature slept.
First a slim silver riband from the sky
Uncurled green fronds from each imprisoned bud,
Then, one by one, bathed in the beaming flood,
Like ghost-notes in a spirit litany.
They blossomed out before my eyes,
Great chalices of snow filled up with light;
Set in the mystic radiance of night
They seemed a vision from immortal skies.
Hidden in shadow near the still lagoon
Nightly I worship at a secret shrine,
There on a ruin- lily-white, devine,
Is beauty lying naked to the moon!


Scheme ABBACDDCEFFEGHHIJKKJCDDC
Poetic Form
Metre 110101110 0111010101 1101110101 010111001 0111010101 010110101 111110101 1011010101 011100101 01101010101 0100110111 1010111101 101101101 111110101 1111100101 1110010100 11010111 11111111 1001010011 1101010101 100110101 1011010101 1101010101 1101010101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 966
Words 170
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 24
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 777
Words per stanza (avg) 168
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

51 sec read
83

Lala Fisher

Mary Lucy "Lala" Fisher was an Australian poet, writer and editor. more…

All Lala Fisher poems | Lala Fisher Books

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