The Meaed in June
Ah! how the looks o' sky an' groundDo change wi' months a-stealen round,When northern winds, by starry night,Do stop in ice the river's flight;Or brooks in winter rains do zwell,Lik' rollen seas athirt the dell;Or trickle thin in zummer-tide;Among the mossy stwones half dried;But still, below the zun or moon,The fearest vield's the meaed in June.
An' I must own, my heart do beaetWi' pride avore my own blue geaete,Where I can bid the steaetely treeBe cast, at langth, avore my knee;An' clover red, an' deaezies feair,An' gil'cups wi' their yollow gleaere,Be all a-match'd avore my zightBy wheelen buttervlees in flight,The while the burnen zun at noonDo sheen upon my meaed in June.
An' there do zing the swingen larkSo gay's above the finest park,An' day do sheaede my trees as trueAs any steaetely avenue;An' show'ry clouds o' Spring do passTo shed their rain on my young grass,An' air do blow the whole day long,To bring me breath, an' teaeke my zong,An' I do miss noo needvul boonA-gi'ed to other meaeds in June.
An' when the bloomen rwose do rideUpon the boughy hedge's zide,We haymeaekers, in snow-white sleeves,Do work in sheaedes o' quiv'ren leaves,In afternoon, a-liften highOur reaekes avore the viery sky,A-reaeken up the hay a-driedBy day, in lwongsome weaeles, to bideIn chilly dew below the moon,O' shorten'd nights in zultry June.
An' there the brook do softly flowAlong, a-benden in a bow,An' vish, wi' zides o' zilver-white,Do flash vrom shoals a dazzlen light;An' alders by the water's edge,Do sheaede the ribbon-bleaeded zedge,An' where, below the withy's head,The zwimmen clote-leaves be a-spread,The angler is a-zot at noonUpon the flow'ry bank in June.
Vor all the aier that do bringMy little meaed the breath o' Spring,By day an' night's a-flowen wideAbove all other vields bezide;Vor all the zun above my ground'S a-zent vor all the naighbours round,An' rain do vall, an' streams do flow,Vor lands above, an' lands below,My bit o' meaed is God's own boon,To me alwone, vrom June to June.
Words in this poem
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- avenue n.
- A way or opening for entrance into a place; a passage by which a place may by reached; a way of approach or of exit. [F. avenue, fr. avenir to come to, L. advenire. See Advene.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- afternoon n.
- The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- clote n.
- The common burdock; the clotbur. Wyclif. [AS. cl: cf. G. klette.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Meaed in June 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, The Meaed in June, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/the-meaed-in-june.html, id L02241.
Form and metre
The Meaed in June is 60 lines in 6 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDDEE, complete in 4 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 AABBCCDDEE groundA · roundA · nightB · flightB · zwellC · dellC · tideD · driedD · moonE · juneE
- 2 AABB--CCDD beaetA · geaeteA · treeB · kneeB · feair · gleaere · zightC · flightC · noonD · juneD
- 3 AABBCCDDEE larkA · parkA · trueB · avenueB · passC · grassC · longD · zongD · boonE · juneE
- 4 AABBCCAADD rideA · zideA · sleevesB · leavesB · highC · skyC · driedA · bideA · moonD · juneD
- 5 AABBCCDDEE flowA · bowA · whiteB · lightB · edgeC · zedgeC · headD · spreadD · noonE · juneE
- 6 AABBCCDDEE bringA · springA · wideB · bezideB · groundC · roundC · flowD · belowD · boonE · juneE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ah! how the looks o' sky an' ground | 8 | ········ |
| Do change wi' months a-stealen round, | 8 | ········ |
| When northern winds, by starry night, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Do stop in ice the river's flight; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or brooks in winter rains do zwell, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Lik' rollen seas athirt the dell; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or trickle thin in zummer-tide; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Among the mossy stwones half dried; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But still, below the zun or moon, | 8 | ········ |
| The fearest vield's the meaed in June. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' I must own, my heart do beaet | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' pride avore my own blue geaete, | 8 | ········ |
| Where I can bid the steaetely tree | 9 | ········· |
| Be cast, at langth, avore my knee; | 8 | ········ |
| An' clover red, an' deaezies feair, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| An' gil'cups wi' their yollow gleaere, | 8 | ········ |
| Be all a-match'd avore my zight | 8 | ········ |
| By wheelen buttervlees in flight, | 7 | ······· |
| The while the burnen zun at noon | 8 | ········ |
| Do sheen upon my meaed in June. | 8 | ········ |
| An' there do zing the swingen lark | 8 | ········ |
| So gay's above the finest park, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' day do sheaede my trees as true | 8 | ········ |
| As any steaetely avenue; | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| An' show'ry clouds o' Spring do pass | 8 | ········ |
| To shed their rain on my young grass, | 8 | ········ |
| An' air do blow the whole day long, | 8 | ········ |
| To bring me breath, an' teaeke my zong, | 8 | ········ |
| An' I do miss noo needvul boon | 8 | ········ |
| A-gi'ed to other meaeds in June. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' when the bloomen rwose do ride | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the boughy hedge's zide, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| We haymeaekers, in snow-white sleeves, | 8 | ········ |
| Do work in sheaedes o' quiv'ren leaves, | 8 | ········ |
| In afternoon, a-liften high | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Our reaekes avore the viery sky, | 8 | /······· |
| A-reaeken up the hay a-dried | 8 | ········ |
| By day, in lwongsome weaeles, to bide | 8 | ········ |
| In chilly dew below the moon, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| O' shorten'd nights in zultry June. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' there the brook do softly flow | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Along, a-benden in a bow, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| An' vish, wi' zides o' zilver-white, | 8 | ········ |
| Do flash vrom shoals a dazzlen light; | 8 | ········ |
| An' alders by the water's edge, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Do sheaede the ribbon-bleaeded zedge, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' where, below the withy's head, | 8 | ········ |
| The zwimmen clote-leaves be a-spread, | 8 | ········ |
| The angler is a-zot at noon | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Upon the flow'ry bank in June. | 8 | ········ |
| Vor all the aier that do bring | 7 | ······· |
| My little meaed the breath o' Spring, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| By day an' night's a-flowen wide | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Above all other vields bezide; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Vor all the zun above my ground | 8 | ········ |
| 'S a-zent vor all the naighbours round, | 9 | ········· |
| An' rain do vall, an' streams do flow, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor lands above, an' lands below, | 8 | ········ |
| My bit o' meaed is God's own boon, | 8 | ········ |
| To me alwone, vrom June to June. | 8 | ········ |
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.