Rivers Don't Gi'E Out
The brook I left below the rankOv alders that do sheaede his bank,A-runnen down to dreve the millBelow the knap, 's a runnen still;The creepen days an' weeks do villUp years, an' meaeke wold things o' new,An' vok' do come, an' live, an' goo,But rivers don't gi'e out, John.
The leaves that in the spring do shootZo green, in fall be under voot;May flow'rs do grow vor June to burn,An' milk-white blooth o' trees do kern,An' ripen on, an' vall in turn;The miller's moss-green wheel mid rot,An' he mid die an' be vorgot,But rivers don't gi'e out, John.
A vew short years do bring an' rearA maid--as Jeaene wer--young an' feaeir,An' vewer zummer-ribbons, tiedIn Zunday knots, do feaede bezideHer cheaek avore her bloom ha' died:Her youth won't stay,--her rwosy look'S a feaeden flow'r, but time's a brookTo run an' not gi'e out, John.
An' yet, while things do come an' goo,God's love is steadvast, John, an' true;If winter vrost do chill the ground,'Tis but to bring the zummer round,All's well a-lost where He's a-vound,Vor if 'tis right, vor Christes seaekeHe'll gi'e us mwore than he do teaeke,--His goodness don't gi'e out, John.
Words in this poem
- knap v. t.
- To bite; to bite off; to break short. [D. knappen to chew, bite, crack, take hold of; prob. of imitative origin.]
- vill n.
- A small collection of houses; a village. [OF. ville, vile, a village, F. ville a town, city. See Villa.]
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
- blooth n.
- Bloom; a blossoming.
- kern v. i.
- To harden, as corn in ripening. Carew. [Cf. G. kern kernel, grain; akin to E. corn. See Corn, Kernel.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Rivers Don't Gi'E Out is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect, Project Gutenberg ebook #21785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Barnes, Rivers Don't Gi'E Out, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/rivers-don-t-gi-e-out.html, id L02065.
Form and metre
Rivers Don't Gi'E Out is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBBCC- rankA · bankA · millB · stillB · villB · newC · gooC · john
- 2 AABBBCC- shootA · vootA · burnB · kernB · turnB · rotC · vorgotC · john
- 3 AABBBCC- rearA · feaeirA · tiedB · bezideB · diedB · lookC · brookC · john
- 4 AABBBCC- gooA · trueA · groundB · roundB · voundB · seaekeC · teaekeC · john
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The brook I left below the rank | 8 | ········ |
| Ov alders that do sheaede his bank, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A-runnen down to dreve the mill | 8 | ········ |
| Below the knap, 's a runnen still; | 9 | ········· |
| The creepen days an' weeks do vill | 8 | ········ |
| Up years, an' meaeke wold things o' new, | 8 | ········ |
| An' vok' do come, an' live, an' goo, | 8 | ········ |
| But rivers don't gi'e out, John. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The leaves that in the spring do shoot | 8 | ········ |
| Zo green, in fall be under voot; | 8 | ········ |
| May flow'rs do grow vor June to burn, | 8 | ········ |
| An' milk-white blooth o' trees do kern, | 8 | ········ |
| An' ripen on, an' vall in turn; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The miller's moss-green wheel mid rot, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' he mid die an' be vorgot, | 8 | ········ |
| But rivers don't gi'e out, John. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| A vew short years do bring an' rear | 8 | ········ |
| A maid--as Jeaene wer--young an' feaeir, | 8 | ········ |
| An' vewer zummer-ribbons, tied | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In Zunday knots, do feaede bezide | 8 | ········ |
| Her cheaek avore her bloom ha' died: | 8 | ········ |
| Her youth won't stay,--her rwosy look | 8 | ········ |
| 'S a feaeden flow'r, but time's a brook | 9 | ········· |
| To run an' not gi'e out, John. | 7 | ······· |
| An' yet, while things do come an' goo, | 8 | ········ |
| God's love is steadvast, John, an' true; | 8 | ········ |
| If winter vrost do chill the ground, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Tis but to bring the zummer round, | 8 | ········ |
| All's well a-lost where He's a-vound, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor if 'tis right, vor Christes seaeke | 7 | ······· |
| He'll gi'e us mwore than he do teaeke,-- | 8 | ········ |
| His goodness don't gi'e out, John. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.