Eastern Proverb
Life’s House being ready all,Each chamber fair and dumb,Ere Life, the Lord, is comeWith pomp into his hall,--Ere Toil has trod the floors,Ere Love has lit the fires,Or young great-eyed DesiresHave, timid, tried the doors;Or from east-window leanedOne Hope, to greet the sun,Or one gray Sorrow screenedHer sight against the west,--Then enters the first guest,The House of Life being done.
He waits there in the shade.I deem he is Life’s twin,For whom the House was made.Whatever his true name,Be sure, to enter inHe has both key and claim.
The daybeams, free of fear,Creep drowsy toward his feet;His heart were heard to beat,Were any there to hear;Ah, not for ends malign,Like wild thing crouched in lair,Or watcher of a snare,But with a friend’s designHe lurks in shadow there!
He goes not to the gatesTo welcome any other,Nay, not Lord Life, his brother;But still his hour awaitsEach several guest to findAlone, yea, quite alone;Pacing with pensive mindThe cloister’s echoing stone,Or singing, unaware,At the turning of the stair,’Tis truth, though we forget,In Life’s House enters noneWho shall that seeker shun,Who shall not so be met.“Is this mine hour?” each saith.“So be it, gentle Death!”Each has his way to end,Encountering this friend.Griefs die to memories mild;Hope turns a weanèd child;Love shines a spirit white,With eyes of deepened light.When many a guest has passed,Some day ’tis Life’s at lastTo front the face of Death.Then, casements closed, men say:“Lord Life is gone away;He went, we trust and pray,To God, who gave him breath.”Beginning, End, He is:Are not these sons both His?Lo, these with Him are one!To phrase it so were best:God’s self is that first Guest,The House of Life being done!
Words in this poem
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- crouched a.
- Marked with the sign of the cross. Crouched friar. See Crutched friar, under Crutched.
- lair n.
- A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast. [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]
- watcher n.
- One who watches; one who sits up or continues; a diligent observer; specifically, one who attends upon the sick during the night.
- unaware a.
- Not aware; not noticing; giving no heed; thoughtless; inattentive.
- 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,]
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Eastern Proverb is in the public domain. This text is taken from A chant of love for England, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #71425; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Helen Gray Cone, Eastern Proverb, in A Chant of Love for England, and Other Poems (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #71425, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cone-chant-for-england/eastern-proverb.html, id L22054.
Form and metre
Eastern Proverb is 64 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic 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 ABBACDDCEFEGGF allA · dumbB · comeB · hallA · floorsC · firesD · desiresD · doorsC · leanedE · sunF · screenedE · westG · guestG · doneF
- 2 ABACBC shadeA · twinB · madeA · nameC · inB · claimC
- 3 ABBACDDCD fearA · feetB · beatB · hearA · malignC · lairD · snareD · designC · thereD
- 4 ABBACDCDEEFGGFHHIIJJKKLLMNNNMOOPQQP gatesA · otherB · brotherB · awaitsA · findC · aloneD · mindC · stoneD · unawareE · stairE · forgetF · noneG · shunG · metF · saithH · deathH · endI · friendI · mildJ · childJ · whiteK · lightK · passedL · lastL · deathM · sayN · awayN · prayN · breathM · isO · hisO · oneP · bestQ · guestQ · doneP
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Life’s House being ready all, | 6 | ··//˘· |
| Each chamber fair and dumb, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Ere Life, the Lord, is come | 6 | ······ |
| With pomp into his hall,-- | 6 | ······ |
| Ere Toil has trod the floors, | 6 | ······ |
| Ere Love has lit the fires, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Or young great-eyed Desires | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Have, timid, tried the doors; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Or from east-window leaned | 6 | ···/˘· |
| One Hope, to greet the sun, | 6 | ······ |
| Or one gray Sorrow screened | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Her sight against the west,-- | 6 | ······ |
| Then enters the first guest, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The House of Life being done. | 6 | ····/· |
| He waits there in the shade. | 6 | ······ |
| I deem he is Life’s twin, | 6 | ······ |
| For whom the House was made. | 6 | ······ |
| Whatever his true name, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Be sure, to enter in | 6 | ···/˘· |
| He has both key and claim. | 6 | ······ |
| The daybeams, free of fear, | 6 | ······ |
| Creep drowsy toward his feet; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| His heart were heard to beat, | 6 | ······ |
| Were any there to hear; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Ah, not for ends malign, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Like wild thing crouched in lair, | 6 | ······ |
| Or watcher of a snare, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But with a friend’s design | 6 | ····˘/ |
| He lurks in shadow there! | 6 | ···/·· |
| He goes not to the gates | 6 | ······ |
| To welcome any other, | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Nay, not Lord Life, his brother; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| But still his hour awaits | 6 | ···/˘/ |
| Each several guest to find | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Alone, yea, quite alone; | 6 | ˘/··˘/ |
| Pacing with pensive mind | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| The cloister’s echoing stone, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Or singing, unaware, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| At the turning of the stair, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| ’Tis truth, though we forget, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| In Life’s House enters none | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who shall that seeker shun, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who shall not so be met. | 6 | ······ |
| “Is this mine hour?” each saith. | 6 | ···/·· |
| “So be it, gentle Death!” | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Each has his way to end, | 6 | ······ |
| Encountering this friend. | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| Griefs die to memories mild; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Hope turns a weanèd child; | 5 | ····· |
| Love shines a spirit white, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| With eyes of deepened light. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When many a guest has passed, | 6 | ·/···· |
| Some day ’tis Life’s at last | 6 | ······ |
| To front the face of Death. | 6 | ······ |
| Then, casements closed, men say: | 7 | ······· |
| “Lord Life is gone away; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| He went, we trust and pray, | 6 | ······ |
| To God, who gave him breath.” | 6 | ······ |
| Beginning, End, He is: | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Are not these sons both His? | 6 | ······ |
| Lo, these with Him are one! | 6 | ······ |
| To phrase it so were best: | 6 | ······ |
| God’s self is that first Guest, | 6 | ······ |
| The House of Life being done! | 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.