Weather of the Soul
There is a world of beingWe range from pole to pole,Through seasons of the spiritAnd weather of the soul.
It has its new-born Aprils,With gladness in the air,Its golden Junes of rapture,Its winters of despair.
And in its tranquil autumnsWe halt to re-enforceOur tattered scarlet pennonsWith valor and resource.
From undiscovered regionsOnly the angels know,Great winds of aspirationPerpetually blow,
To free the sap of impulseFrom torpor of distrust,And into flowers of joyanceQuicken the sentient dust.
From nowhere of a suddenLoom sudden clouds of fault,With thunders of oppressionAnd lightnings of revolt.
With hush of apprehensionAnd quaking of the heart,There breed the storms of anger,And floods of sorrow start.
And there shall fall,--how gently!--To make them fertile yet,The rain of absolutionOn acres of regret.
Till snows of mercy coverThe dream that shall come true,When time makes all things wondrous,And life makes all things new.
Words in this poem
- resource n.
- That to which one resorts orr on which one depends for supply or support; means of overcoming a difficulty; resort; expedient. [F. ressource, fr. OF. ressourdre, resourdre, to spring forth or up again; pref. re- re- + sourdre to spring forth. See Source.]
- aspiration n.
- The act of aspirating; the pronunciation of a letter with a full or strong emission of breath; an aspirated sound. [L. aspiratio, fr. aspirare: cf. F. aspiration.]
- perpetually adv.
- In a perpetual manner; constantly; continually.
- joyance n.
- Enjoyment; gayety; festivity; joyfulness. [OF. joiance.]
- nowhere adv.
- Not anywhere; not in any place or state; as, the book is nowhere to be found. [AS. nahwær. See No, and Where.]
- 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,]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Weather of the Soul 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, Weather of the Soul, in Later Poems (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #33417, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carman-later-poems/weather-of-the-soul.html, id L11001.
Form and metre
Weather of the Soul is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is short measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.6 syllables. 18 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 39% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in short 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 being · poleA · spirit · soulA
- 2 -A-A aprils · airA · rapture · despairA
- 3 -A-A autumns · enforceA · pennons · resourceA
- 4 -A-A regions · knowA · aspiration · blowA
- 5 -A-A impulse · distrustA · joyance · dustA
- 7 -A-A apprehension · heartA · anger · startA
- 8 -A-A gently · yetA · absolution · regretA
- 9 -A-A cover · trueA · wondrous · newA
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 short measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There is a world of being | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| We range from pole to pole, | 6 | ······ |
| Through seasons of the spirit | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And weather of the soul. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| It has its new-born Aprils, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| With gladness in the air, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Its golden Junes of rapture, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Its winters of despair. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And in its tranquil autumns | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| We halt to re-enforce | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Our tattered scarlet pennons | 8 | /˘/˘/˘·· |
| With valor and resource. | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| From undiscovered regions | 8 | ··˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Only the angels know, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Great winds of aspiration | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Perpetually blow, | 6 | ˘/˘˘˘· |
| To free the sap of impulse | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| From torpor of distrust, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And into flowers of joyance | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Quicken the sentient dust. | 7 | /˘·/˘˘· |
| From nowhere of a sudden | 7 | ·/···/˘ |
| Loom sudden clouds of fault, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| With thunders of oppression | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| And lightnings of revolt. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| With hush of apprehension | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| And quaking of the heart, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| There breed the storms of anger, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And floods of sorrow start. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And there shall fall,--how gently!-- | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| To make them fertile yet, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The rain of absolution | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| On acres of regret. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Till snows of mercy cover | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| The dream that shall come true, | 6 | ······ |
| When time makes all things wondrous, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And life makes all things new. | 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.