Analysis of Johnnie's First Moose



De cloud is hide de moon, but dere's plain-
tee light above,
Steady Johnnie, steady-kip your head down
low,
Move de paddle leetle quicker, an' de ole canoe
we'll shove
T'roo de water nice an' quiet
For de place we're goin' try it
Is beyon' de silver birch dere
You can see it lak a church dere
W'en we're passin' on de corner w'ere de lilly
flower grow.

Was n't dat correc' w'at I'm tolin' you jus
now?
Steady Johnnie, steady-kip your head down
low,
Never min', I'll watch behin'- me - an' you
can watch de bow
An' you'll see a leetle clearer
W'en canoe is comin' nearer-
Dere she is-now easy, easy,
For de win' is gettin' breezy,
An' we don't want not'ing smell us, till de
horn begin to blow-

I remember long ago w'en ma fader tak' me out,
Steady Johnnie, steady-kip your head down
low,
Jus' de way I'm takin' you, sir, hello! was
dat a shout?
Seems to me I t'ink I'm hearin'
Somet'ing stirrin' on de clearin'
W'ere it stan' de lumber shaintee,
If it's true, den yuo'll have plaintee
Work to do in half a minute, if de moose don't
start to go.

An' now we're on de shore, let us hide de ole
canoe,
Steady Johnnie, steady-kip your head down
low,
An' lie among de rushes, dat's bes' t'ing we
can do,
For de ole boy may be closer
Dan anybody know, sir,
An' look out you don't be shakin'
Or de bad shot you'll be makin'
But I'm feelin' sam' way too, me, w'en I
was young, also-

You ready for de call? here goes for number
wan,
Steady Johnnie, steady-kip your head down
low,
Did you hear how nice I do it, an' how it
travel on
Till ir reach across de reever
Dat'll geev' some moose de fever!
Wait now, Johnnie, don't you worry,
No use bein' on de hurry,
But lissen for de answer, it'll come before you
know.

For w'y you jomp lak dat? w'at's matter wit'
your ear?
Steady, Johnnie, steady-kip your head down
low-
Tak' your finger off de trigger, dat was only
bird you hear,
Can't you tell de pine tree crickin'
Or de boule frog w'en he's spikin' ?
Don't you know de grey owl singin'
From de beeg moose w'en he's ringin'
Out hees challenge on de message your ole
gran' fader blow?

You're lucky boy to-night, wit' hunter man
lak me!
Steady, Johnnie, steady-kip your head down
low-
Can tole you all about it! H-s-s-h! dat's
somet'ing now I see,
Dere he's comin' t'roo de bushes,
So get down among de rushes,
Hear heem walk! I t'ink, by tonder,
He mus' go near fourteen honder!
Dat's de feller I been watchin' all de evening,
I dunno.

I'll geev' anoder call, jus' a leetle wan or
two,
Steady, Johnnie, steady-kip your head dwon
low-
W'en he see dere's no wan waitin' I wonder
w'at he'll do?
But look out for here he's comin'
Sa-pris-ti! ma heart is drummin'!
You can never get heem nearer
An' de moon is shinin' clearer,
W'at a fine shot you'll be havin'! now
Johnnie let her go!

Bang! bang! you got heem sure! an' he'll
never run away
Nor feed among de lily on de shore of Wes-
sonneau,
So dat's your firse moose Johnnie! wall! re-
member all I say-
Does n't matter w'at you 're chasin',
Does n't matter w'at you 're facin',
Only watch de t'ing you're doin'
If you don't, ba gosh! you 're ruin
An' steady, Johnnie, steady-kip your head
down low.


Scheme abCDebfghhid ejCDejhhiiid kCDlkmaffxd neCDiehhamxd hoCDgohhhhed ghCDihaaaand xiCDlipphhxd heaDheaahhjd xqxahqmaaxxd
Poetic Form
Metre 111111111 1101 1010101111 1 111011011101 11 11101110 1111111 1111011 11111011 10011111101001110 101 11111100111011 1 1010101111 1 101111111 1111 1110110 1001011110 11111010 1111110 1111111111 10111 10101011001110111 1010101111 1 1111111011 101 111111110 11111 1001111101 1111111 111010101111 111 11111111111 01 1010101111 1 110111011111 11 11111110 1100011 1111111 11111110 111111110011 1110 11011111110 1 1010101111 1 11111111111 101 11101110 1111110 11101110 1111110 111110101011 1 1100111111101 11 1010101111 1 111011101110 111 1111111 1111100111 1111111 1111100111 1110111011 1101 1101111101 11 1010101111 1 111101111111 1111 1111110 11101110 11111111 1111111 11101111110 101 111110111 1 1010101111 1 1001111111110 100111 1111111 1111111 11101110 1111110 10010111111 10101 11111111 10101 110111011111 1 111111011 10111 1111010011110 111101001111 10111111 111111110 1101010111 11
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 3,047
Words 602
Sentences 31
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 12, 12, 11, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12
Lines Amount 107
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 254
Words per stanza (avg) 67
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

3:21 min read
64

William Henry Drummond

William Henry Drummond April 13 1854 April 6 1907 was an Irish-born Canadian poet He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature of the United Kingdom in 1898 and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1899 more…

All William Henry Drummond poems | William Henry Drummond Books

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