The Cry of the Hillborn

Bliss Carman (1861–1929) · 1921

common measure · 48 lines · from Later Poems

I am homesick for the mountains--My heroic mother hills--And the longing that is on meNo solace ever stills.

I would climb to brooding summitsWith their old untarnished dreams,Cool my heart in forest shadowsTo the lull of falling streams;

Hear the innocence of aspensThat babble in the breeze,And the fragrant sudden showersThat patter on the trees.

I am lonely for my thrushesIn their hermitage withdrawn,Toning the quiet transportsOf twilight and of dawn.

I need the pure, strong mornings,When the soul of day is still,With the touch of frost that kindlesThe scarlet on the hill;

Lone trails and winding woodroadsTo outlooks wild and high,And the pale moon waiting sundownWhere ledges cut the sky.

I dream of upland clearingsWhere cones of sumac burn,And gaunt and gray-mossed bouldersLie deep in beds of fern;

The gray and mottled beeches,The birches' satin sheen,The majesty of hemlocksCrowning the blue ravine.

My eyes dim for the skylineWhere purple peaks aspire,And the forges of the sunsetFlare up in golden fire.

There crests look down unheedingAnd see the great winds blow,Tossing the huddled tree-topsIn gorges far below;

Where cloud-mists from the warm earthRoll up about their knees,And hang their filmy tattersLike prayers upon the trees.

I cry for night-blue shadowsOn plain and hill and dome,--The spell of old enchantments,The sorcery of home.

Words in this poem

homesick a.: Pining for home; in a nostalgic condition.
solace n.: Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
lull v. t.: To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet. [Akin to OD. lullen to sing to sleep, G. lullen, Dan. lulle, Sw. lulla; all of imitative origin. Cf. Loll, Lollard.]
patter v. i.: To strike with a quick succession of slight, sharp sounds; as, pattering rain or hail; pattering feet. [Freq. of pat to strike gently.]
hermitage n.: The habitation of a hermit; a secluded residence. [OE. hermitage, ermitage, F. hermitage, ermitage. See Hermit.]
lone n.: A lane. See Loanin.
sundown n.: The setting of the sun; sunset.
gaunt a.: Attenuated, as with fasting or suffering; lean; meager; pinched and grim. [Cf. Norw. gand a thin pointed stick, a tall and thin man, and W. gwan weak.]
sheen v. i.: To shine; to glisten.
aspire v. t.: To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to.
flare v. i.: To burn with an unsteady or waving flame; as, the candle flares. [Cf. Norw. flara to blaze, flame, adorn with tinsel, dial. Sw. flasa upp, and E. flash, or flacker.]
filmy a.: Composed of film or films.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Cry of the Hillborn is in the public domain. This text is taken from Later Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #33417; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Bliss Carman, The Cry of the Hillborn, in Later Poems (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #33417, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carman-later-poems/the-cry-of-the-hillborn.html, id L10997.

Form and metre

The Cry of the Hillborn is 48 lines in 12 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 42% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in common measure.

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 -A-A mountains · hills^A · me · stills^A
2 -A-A summits · dreams^A · shadows · streams^A
3 -AAA aspens · breeze^A · showers^A · trees^A
4 -A-A thrushes · withdrawn^A · transports · dawn^A
5 -A-A mornings · still^A · kindles · hill^A
6 -A-A woodroads · high^A · sundown · sky^A
7 -A-A clearings · burn^A · boulders · fern^A
8 -A-A beeches · sheen^A · hemlocks · ravine^A
9 -A-A skyline · aspire^A · sunset · fire^A
10 -A-A unheeding · blow^A · tops · below^A
11 -AAA earth · knees^A · tatters^A · trees^A
12 -A-A shadows · dome^A · enchantments · home^A

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 common measure. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
I am homesick for the mountains--	8	··/···/˘
My heroic mother hills--	7	·˘/˘/˘·
And the longing that is on me	8	··/˘····
No solace ever stills.	6	·/˘/˘·
I would climb to brooding summits	8	····/˘/˘
With their old untarnished dreams,	8	······˘·
Cool my heart in forest shadows	8	····/˘/·
To the lull of falling streams;	7	····/˘·
Hear the innocence of aspens	8	··/˘˘·/˘
That babble in the breeze,	6	·/˘···
And the fragrant sudden showers	8	··/˘/˘/˘
That patter on the trees.	6	·/˘···
I am lonely for my thrushes	8	··/˘··/˘
In their hermitage withdrawn,	7	··/˘˘˘/
Toning the quiet transports	7	/˘·/˘˘/
Of twilight and of dawn.	6	·/····
I need the pure, strong mornings,	7	·····/˘
When the soul of day is still,	7	·······
With the touch of frost that kindles	8	······/˘
The scarlet on the hill;	6	·/˘···
Lone trails and winding woodroads	7	···/˘··
To outlooks wild and high,	6	·/····
And the pale moon waiting sundown	8	····/˘/·
Where ledges cut the sky.	6	·/˘···
I dream of upland clearings	7	···/˘/˘
Where cones of sumac burn,	6	···/˘·
And gaunt and gray-mossed boulders	8	·····˘/˘
Lie deep in beds of fern;	6	······
The gray and mottled beeches,	8	···/˘˘/˘
The birches' satin sheen,	6	···/˘·
The majesty of hemlocks	7	·/˘˘·/·
Crowning the blue ravine.	6	/˘··˘/
My eyes dim for the skyline	7	·····/·
Where purple peaks aspire,	6	·/˘·˘/
And the forges of the sunset	8	··/˘··/·
Flare up in golden fire.	7	···/˘/˘
There crests look down unheeding	7	·······
And see the great winds blow,	6	······
Tossing the huddled tree-tops	8	/˘·/˘˘··
In gorges far below;	6	·/˘···
Where cloud-mists from the warm earth	7	·······
Roll up about their knees,	6	······
And hang their filmy tatters	7	···/˘/˘
Like prayers upon the trees.	6	······
I cry for night-blue shadows	7	·····/·
On plain and hill and dome,--	6	······
The spell of old enchantments,	7	····˘/˘
The sorcery of home.	6	·/˘˘··

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.

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