Contact
NO soul can be quite separate,However set apart by fate,However cold or dull or shy,Or shrinking from the public eye.The world is common to the race,And nowhere is a hiding-place;Before, behind, on either side,The surging masses press, divide;Behind, before, with rhythmic beat,Is heard the tread of marching feet;To left, to right, they urge, they fare,And touch us here, and touch us there.Hold back your garment as you will,The crowding world will rub it still.Then, since such contact needs must be,What shall it do for you and me?
Shall it be cold and hard alone,As when a stone doth touch a stone,Fruitless, unwelcome, and unmeant,Put by as a dull accident,While we pass onward, deaf and blind,With no relenting look behind?Or as when two round drops of rain,Let fall upon a window-pane,Wander, divergent, from their course,Led by some blind, instinctive force,Mingle and blend and interfuse,Their separate shapes and being lose,Made one thereafter and the same,Identical in end and aim,Nor brighter gleam, nor faster run,Because they are not two, but one?
Or shall we meet in warring mood,The contact of the fire and flood,Decreed by Nature and by Will,The one to warm, the one to chill,The one to burn, the one to slake,To thwart and counteract and makeEach other’s wretchedness, and dwellIn hate irreconcilable?Or as when fierce fire meets frail straw,And carries out the fatal lawWhich makes the weaker thing to beThe prey of strength and tyranny;A careless touch, half scorn, half mirth,A brief resistance, little worth;A little blaze soon quenched and marred,And ashes ever afterward?
No; let us meet, since meet we must,Not shaking off the common dust,As if we feared our fellow-men,And fain would walk aloof from them;Not fruitlessly, as rain meets rain,To lose ourselves and nothing gain;Not fiercely, prey to adverse fate,And not to spoil and desolate.But as we meet and touch, each day,The many travellers on our way,Let every such brief contact beA glorious, helpful ministry;The contact of the soil and seed,Each giving to the other’s need,Each helping on the other’s best,And blessing, each, as well as blest.
Words in this poem
- nowhere adv.
- Not anywhere; not in any place or state; as, the book is nowhere to be found. [AS. nahwær. See No, and Where.]
- rhythmic a.
- Pertaining to, or of the nature of, rhythm DAy and night I worked my rhythmic thought. Mrs. Browning. [Gr. rhythmicus, F. rhythmique.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- 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,]
- fruitless a.
- Lacking, or not bearing, fruit; barren; destitute of offspring; as, a fruitless tree or shrub; a fruitless marriage.
- unmeant a.
- Not meant or intended; unintentional.
- pane n.
- The narrow edge of a hammer head. See Peen. [F. panne.]
- interfuse v. t.
- To pour or spread between or among; to diffuse; to scatter. [L. interfusus, p. p. of interfundere to pour between; inter between + fundere to pour. See Fuse to melt.]
- thereafter adv.
- After that; afterward. [AS. th\'d6ræfter after that. See There, and After.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Contact is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Few More Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #49518; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Susan Coolidge, Contact, in A Few More Verses (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #49518, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/coolidge-few-more-verses/contact.html, id L23472.
Form and metre
Contact is 64 lines in 4 stanzas of 16 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH separateA · fateA · shyB · eyeB · raceC · placeC · sideD · divideD · beatE · feetE · fareF · thereF · willG · stillG · beH · meH
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH aloneA · stoneA · unmeantB · accidentB · blindC · behindC · rainD · paneD · courseE · forceE · interfuseF · loseF · sameG · aimG · runH · oneH
- 3 --AABB-ACC--DD-- mood · flood · willA · chillA · slakeB · makeB · dwell · irreconcilableA · strawC · lawC · be · tyranny · mirthD · worthD · marred · afterward
- 4 AA--BBCCDD--EEFF mustA · dustA · men · them · rainB · gainB · fateC · desolateC · dayD · wayD · be · ministry · seedE · needE · bestF · blestF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| NO soul can be quite separate, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| However set apart by fate, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| However cold or dull or shy, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or shrinking from the public eye. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The world is common to the race, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And nowhere is a hiding-place; | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Before, behind, on either side, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The surging masses press, divide; | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Behind, before, with rhythmic beat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is heard the tread of marching feet; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To left, to right, they urge, they fare, | 8 | ········ |
| And touch us here, and touch us there. | 8 | ········ |
| Hold back your garment as you will, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The crowding world will rub it still. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Then, since such contact needs must be, | 8 | ···/···· |
| What shall it do for you and me? | 8 | ········ |
| Shall it be cold and hard alone, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| As when a stone doth touch a stone, | 8 | ········ |
| Fruitless, unwelcome, and unmeant, | 8 | /˘˘/˘·˘/ |
| Put by as a dull accident, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| While we pass onward, deaf and blind, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With no relenting look behind? | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Or as when two round drops of rain, | 8 | ········ |
| Let fall upon a window-pane, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wander, divergent, from their course, | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| Led by some blind, instinctive force, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Mingle and blend and interfuse, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Their separate shapes and being lose, | 8 | ·/˘···/· |
| Made one thereafter and the same, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Identical in end and aim, | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| Nor brighter gleam, nor faster run, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Because they are not two, but one? | 8 | ········ |
| Or shall we meet in warring mood, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The contact of the fire and flood, | 8 | ·/···/·· |
| Decreed by Nature and by Will, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| The one to warm, the one to chill, | 8 | ········ |
| The one to burn, the one to slake, | 8 | ········ |
| To thwart and counteract and make | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Each other’s wretchedness, and dwell | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| In hate irreconcilable? | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘˘ |
| Or as when fierce fire meets frail straw, | 8 | ····/··· |
| And carries out the fatal law | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Which makes the weaker thing to be | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The prey of strength and tyranny; | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| A careless touch, half scorn, half mirth, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A brief resistance, little worth; | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| A little blaze soon quenched and marred, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And ashes ever afterward? | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| No; let us meet, since meet we must, | 8 | ········ |
| Not shaking off the common dust, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| As if we feared our fellow-men, | 8 | ····//˘· |
| And fain would walk aloof from them; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Not fruitlessly, as rain meets rain, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| To lose ourselves and nothing gain; | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Not fiercely, prey to adverse fate, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| And not to spoil and desolate. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But as we meet and touch, each day, | 8 | ········ |
| The many travellers on our way, | 8 | ·//˘˘·/· |
| Let every such brief contact be | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| A glorious, helpful ministry; | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘˘ |
| The contact of the soil and seed, | 8 | ·/······ |
| Each giving to the other’s need, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Each helping on the other’s best, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And blessing, each, as well as blest. | 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.