Friends
Down through the woods, along the wayThat fords the stream; by rock and tree,Where in the bramble-bell the beeSwings; and through twilights green and grayThe redbird flashes suddenly,My thoughts went wandering to-day.
I found the fields where, row on row,The blackberries hang dark with fruit;Where, nesting at the elder's root,The partridge whistles soft and low;The fields, that billow to the footOf those old hills we used to know.
There lay the pond, all willow-bound,On whose bright face, when noons were hot,We marked the bubbles rise; some plotTo lure us in; while all aroundOur heads,--like faery fancies,--shotThe dragonflies without a sound.
The pond, above which evening bentTo gaze upon her gypsy face;Wherein the twinkling night would traceA vague, inverted firmament;In which the green frogs tuned their bass,And firefly sparkles came and went.
The oldtime place we often ranged,When we were playmates, you and I;The oldtime fields, with boyhood's skyStill blue above them!--Naught was changed:Nothing.--Alas! then, tell me whyShould we be? whom the years estranged.
Words in this poem
- bramble n.
- Any plant of the genus Rubus, including the raspberry and blackberry. Hence: Any rough, prickly shrub. [OE. brembil, AS.brbramal), fr. the same root as E. broom, As. br. See Broom.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- billow n.
- A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
- twinkling n.
- The act of one who, or of that which, twinkles; a quick movement of the eye; a wink; a twinkle. Holland.
- firmament n.
- Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
- firefly n.
- Any luminous winged insect, esp. luminous beetles of the family Lampyridæ.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Friends is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #7796; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Madison Julius Cawein, Friends, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/friends.html, id L10913.
Form and metre
Friends is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBABA, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 37% 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 ABBA-A wayA · treeB · beeB · grayA · suddenly · dayA
- 2 ABBA-A rowA · fruitB · rootB · lowA · foot · knowA
- 3 ABBABA boundA · hotB · plotB · aroundA · shotB · soundA
- 4 ABBABA bentA · faceB · traceB · firmamentA · bassB · wentA
- 5 ABBABA rangedA · iB · skyB · changedA · whyB · estrangedA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Down through the woods, along the way | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| That fords the stream; by rock and tree, | 8 | ········ |
| Where in the bramble-bell the bee | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Swings; and through twilights green and gray | 8 | ···/···· |
| The redbird flashes suddenly, | 8 | ·/·/˘/˘˘ |
| My thoughts went wandering to-day. | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| I found the fields where, row on row, | 8 | ········ |
| The blackberries hang dark with fruit; | 8 | ·/·˘···· |
| Where, nesting at the elder's root, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The partridge whistles soft and low; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The fields, that billow to the foot | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of those old hills we used to know. | 8 | ········ |
| There lay the pond, all willow-bound, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| On whose bright face, when noons were hot, | 8 | ········ |
| We marked the bubbles rise; some plot | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To lure us in; while all around | 8 | ········ |
| Our heads,--like faery fancies,--shot | 8 | /····/˘· |
| The dragonflies without a sound. | 7 | ······· |
| The pond, above which evening bent | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To gaze upon her gypsy face; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wherein the twinkling night would trace | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A vague, inverted firmament; | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| In which the green frogs tuned their bass, | 8 | ········ |
| And firefly sparkles came and went. | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| The oldtime place we often ranged, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| When we were playmates, you and I; | 8 | ···/···· |
| The oldtime fields, with boyhood's sky | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Still blue above them!--Naught was changed: | 8 | ········ |
| Nothing.--Alas! then, tell me why | 8 | /˘˘/···· |
| Should we be? whom the years estranged. | 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.