In the Wayland Willows
Once I met a soncy maid,Soncy maid, soncy maid,Once I met a soncy maidIn the Wayland willows.
All her hair was goldy brown,Goldy brown, goldy brown,In the sun a single braidTo her waist hung down.
Honey bees, honey bees,You are roving fellows!Idly went the doxy windIn the Wayland willows.
There I caught her eye a-dance,Through the catkins downy."Heigho, Brownie-pate," said I;"Heigho," said my Brownie.
Then I kissed my soncy maid,Soncy maid, soncy maid,Kissed and kissed my soncy maidIn the Wayland willows.
Goldy eyes and goldy hair,And little gypsy bosom,Chin and lip and shoulder tip,Blossom after blossom!
Hand in hand and cheek by cheekAll the morning weather!How the yellow butterfliesDanced and winked together!
Till the day went down the hillWhere the shadows waded."Heigho, Soncy!" "Heigho, me!"Then I did as day did.
All her tousled beauty brightAnd teasing as before,I left her there in sweet despair,A soncy maid no more.
Words in this poem
- soncy a.
- Lucky; fortunate; thriving; plump. [Scot. sonce, sons, prosperity, happiness, fr. Gael. & Ir. sonas.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- doxy n.
- A loose wench; a disreputable sweetheart. [See Duck a pet.]
- brownie n.
- An imaginary good-natured spirit, who was supposed often to perform important services around the house by night, such as thrashing, churning, sweeping. [So called from its supposed tawny or swarthy color.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In the Wayland Willows is in the public domain. This text is taken from More Songs From Vagabondia, Project Gutenberg ebook #18007; 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, In the Wayland Willows, in More Songs from Vagabondia (1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18007, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carman-vagabondia/in-the-wayland-willows.html, id L24704.
Form and metre
In the Wayland Willows is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in trochaic trimeter.
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 AAA- maidA · maidA · maidA · willows
- 2 AA-A brownA · brownA · braid · downA
- 3 AA-A beesA · fellowsA · wind · willowsA
- 4 -A-A dance · downyA · i · brownieA
- 5 AAA- maidA · maidA · maidA · willows
- 7 -A-A cheek · weatherA · butterflies · togetherA
- 8 -A-A hill · wadedA · me · didA
- 9 -A-A bright · beforeA · despair · moreA
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 trochaic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Once I met a soncy maid, | 7 | ······· |
| Soncy maid, soncy maid, | 6 | ······ |
| Once I met a soncy maid | 7 | ······· |
| In the Wayland willows. | 6 | ··/˘/· |
| All her hair was goldy brown, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Goldy brown, goldy brown, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| In the sun a single braid | 7 | ····/˘· |
| To her waist hung down. | 5 | ····· |
| Honey bees, honey bees, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| You are roving fellows! | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Idly went the doxy wind | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| In the Wayland willows. | 6 | ··/˘/· |
| There I caught her eye a-dance, | 7 | ······· |
| Through the catkins downy. | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| "Heigho, Brownie-pate," said I; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| "Heigho," said my Brownie. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Then I kissed my soncy maid, | 7 | ······· |
| Soncy maid, soncy maid, | 6 | ······ |
| Kissed and kissed my soncy maid | 7 | ······· |
| In the Wayland willows. | 6 | ··/˘/· |
| Goldy eyes and goldy hair, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| And little gypsy bosom, | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Chin and lip and shoulder tip, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Blossom after blossom! | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| Hand in hand and cheek by cheek | 7 | ······· |
| All the morning weather! | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| How the yellow butterflies | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Danced and winked together! | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Till the day went down the hill | 7 | ······· |
| Where the shadows waded. | 6 | ··/·/˘ |
| "Heigho, Soncy!" "Heigho, me!" | 7 | ······· |
| Then I did as day did. | 6 | ······ |
| All her tousled beauty bright | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And teasing as before, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I left her there in sweet despair, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A soncy maid no more. | 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.