Those with Me
As on I drive, in my heart joy dwellsOf Sabbath silence with sound of bells.The sun lifts all that is living, growing,God's love itself in its symbol showing.To church pass people from near and far,Soon psalms ascend from the door ajar.--Good cheer! Your greeting hailed more than me,But that in hastening you failed to see.
Here's goodly company with me riding,Though oft they cunningly keep in hiding;But when you saw me so Sunday-glad,It was because of the mates I had.And when you heard me so softly singing,The tones attuned to their hearts were ringing.
One soul is here of such priceless worth,For me she offered her all on earth;Yes, she who smiled in my boat storm-driven,And blanched not, braving the waves wind-riven,In whose white arms that in love caressed meFull warmth of life and of faith possessed me.
The snail in this I am like when faring,--My home I ever am with me bearing;And who believes it is burdensome,He ought to learn how it's good to comeAnd creep in under the roof thereafter,Where she gives light amid children's laughter.
No poet paints nor can thinker tellSo vast a vault or so deep a well,As where the glory of God's own loveOn cradle-mirror falls from above.Your soul is brighter, your heart more tender,When by the cradle your thanks you render.
Who knows not love in the small and near,The many in memory hold not dear.Who cannot build him a house his own,What towers he builds will be soon o'erthrown.From Moscow victor to Carthagena,He vanquished dies on his Saint Helena.
When such a stronghold you've reared with labor,It often safely protects your neighbor;Though work of woman's and children's hands,Your soul finds strength where that fortress stands,You go hence braver to battle-dangers,Can courage give unto countless strangers.
One home bore often a whole land's fate,And sent the hero who saved the state;Thousands of homes, when the war was o'er,The land delivered in safety bore.So bear it onward in peace and beautyThe hearts of homes beating true to duty.
Though foreign perfumes be fine and rare,Still pure alone is the home's sweet air.Naught meets you there but the childlike, truthful,And sin is kissed from your forehead ruthful.To heaven's home leads its door ajar,For thence it came and it lies not far.
Good cheer, to church on your way not staying!For those we love we shall both be praying;In prayer together the way we wanderThat leads from this to the home up yonder.You enter in; I must journey far,While follow psalms from the door ajar.Good cheer! Your greeting hailed more than me,But that in hastening you failed to see.
Words in this poem
- ajar adv.
- Slightly turned or opened; as, the door was standing ajar. [OE. on char ajar, on the turn; AS. cerr, cyrr, turn, akin to G. kehren to turn, and to D. akerre. See Char.]
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- priceless a.
- Too valuable to admit of being appraised; of inestimable worth; invaluable.
- braving n.
- A bravado; a boast.
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- thereafter adv.
- After that; afterward. [AS. th\'d6ræfter after that. See There, and After.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- countless a.
- Incapable of being counted; not ascertainable; innumerable.
- childlike a.
- Resembling a child, or that which belongs to children; becoming a child; meek; submissive; dutiful.
- ruthful a.
- Full of ruth; as: (a) Pitiful; tender.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Those with Me is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs, Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, the Arthur Hubbell Palmer translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Those with Me, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/those-with-me.html, id L29307.
Form and metre
Those with Me is 64 lines in 10 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 8 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABBCCDD dwellsA · bellsA · growingB · showingB · farC · ajarC · meD · seeD
- 2 AABBCC ridingA · hidingA · gladB · hadB · singingC · ringingC
- 3 AABBCC worthA · earthA · drivenB · rivenB · meC · meC
- 4 AABBCC faringA · bearingA · burdensomeB · comeB · thereafterC · laughterC
- 5 AABBCC tellA · wellA · loveB · aboveB · tenderC · renderC
- 6 AABBCC nearA · dearA · ownB · o'erthrownB · carthagenaC · helenaC
- 7 AABBCC laborA · neighborA · handsB · standsB · dangersC · strangersC
- 8 AABBCC fateA · stateA · o'erB · boreB · beautyC · dutyC
- 9 AABBCC rareA · airA · truthfulB · ruthfulB · ajarC · farC
- 10 AABBCCDD stayingA · prayingA · wanderB · yonderB · farC · ajarC · meD · seeD
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| As on I drive, in my heart joy dwells | 9 | ········· |
| Of Sabbath silence with sound of bells. | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| The sun lifts all that is living, growing, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| God's love itself in its symbol showing. | 10 | ··˘/··/˘/˘ |
| To church pass people from near and far, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Soon psalms ascend from the door ajar. | 9 | ··˘/···˘/ |
| --Good cheer! Your greeting hailed more than me, | 10 | ···/˘·˘··· |
| But that in hastening you failed to see. | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Here's goodly company with me riding, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘··/˘ |
| Though oft they cunningly keep in hiding; | 10 | ···/˘˘··/˘ |
| But when you saw me so Sunday-glad, | 9 | ······/·· |
| It was because of the mates I had. | 9 | ········· |
| And when you heard me so softly singing, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| The tones attuned to their hearts were ringing. | 10 | ··˘/····/˘ |
| One soul is here of such priceless worth, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| For me she offered her all on earth; | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Yes, she who smiled in my boat storm-driven, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| And blanched not, braving the waves wind-riven, | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| In whose white arms that in love caressed me | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| Full warmth of life and of faith possessed me. | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| The snail in this I am like when faring,-- | 10 | ········/˘ |
| My home I ever am with me bearing; | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| And who believes it is burdensome, | 9 | ··˘/··/˘˘ |
| He ought to learn how it's good to come | 9 | ········· |
| And creep in under the roof thereafter, | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| Where she gives light amid children's laughter. | 10 | ····˘//˘/˘ |
| No poet paints nor can thinker tell | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| So vast a vault or so deep a well, | 9 | ········· |
| As where the glory of God's own love | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| On cradle-mirror falls from above. | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Your soul is brighter, your heart more tender, | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| When by the cradle your thanks you render. | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| Who knows not love in the small and near, | 9 | ········· |
| The many in memory hold not dear. | 10 | ·/˘·/˘˘··· |
| Who cannot build him a house his own, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| What towers he builds will be soon o'erthrown. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| From Moscow victor to Carthagena, | 10 | ·/·/˘····· |
| He vanquished dies on his Saint Helena. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| When such a stronghold you've reared with labor, | 10 | ···/····/˘ |
| It often safely protects your neighbor; | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘/·/˘ |
| Though work of woman's and children's hands, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Your soul finds strength where that fortress stands, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| You go hence braver to battle-dangers, | 10 | ···/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Can courage give unto countless strangers. | 10 | ·/˘···/˘/˘ |
| One home bore often a whole land's fate, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| And sent the hero who saved the state; | 10 | ···/˘··˘·· |
| Thousands of homes, when the war was o'er, | 9 | /˘······· |
| The land delivered in safety bore. | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| So bear it onward in peace and beauty | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| The hearts of homes beating true to duty. | 10 | ····/˘··/˘ |
| Though foreign perfumes be fine and rare, | 9 | ·/˘˘/···· |
| Still pure alone is the home's sweet air. | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| Naught meets you there but the childlike, truthful, | 10 | ······/·/˘ |
| And sin is kissed from your forehead ruthful. | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| To heaven's home leads its door ajar, | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| For thence it came and it lies not far. | 9 | ········· |
| Good cheer, to church on your way not staying! | 10 | ········/˘ |
| For those we love we shall both be praying; | 10 | ········/˘ |
| In prayer together the way we wander | 10 | ··˘/˘···/˘ |
| That leads from this to the home up yonder. | 10 | ········/˘ |
| You enter in; I must journey far, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| While follow psalms from the door ajar. | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| Good cheer! Your greeting hailed more than me, | 10 | ···/˘·˘··· |
| But that in hastening you failed to see. | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
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.