Easter
FLOWERS die not in the winter-tide,Although they wake in spring;Pillowed ’neath mounds of fleecy snow,While skies are gray and storm-winds blow,All patiently they bide,Fettered by frost, and bravely wait,And trust in spring or soon or late.
Hope dies not in the winter-tide,Though sore it longs for spring;Cool morn may ripen to hot noon,And evening dusks creep all too soonThe noonday sun to hide;But through the night there stir and thrillThe sleeping strengths of life and will.
For souls there comes a winter-tide,For souls there blooms a spring;Though winter days may linger long,And snows be deep and frosts be strong,And faith be sorely tried,When Christ shall shine, who is the Sun,Spring-time shall be for every one.
Oh, mighty Lord of winter-tide!Oh, loving Lord of spring!Come to our hearts this Easter Day,Melt all the prisoning ice away,And evermore abide,Making both good and ill to beThy blessed opportunity.
Words in this poem
- pillowed a.
- Provided with a pillow or pillows; having the head resting on, or as on, a pillow.
- fleecy a.
- Covered with, made of, or resembling, a fleece.
- patiently adv.
- In a patient manner.
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- fettered a.
- Seeming as if fettered, as the feet pf certain animals which bend backward, and appear unfit for walking.
- bravely adv.
- In a brave manner; courageously; gallantly; valiantly; splendidly; nobly.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- noonday n.
- Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
- sorely adv.
- In a sore manner; grievously; painfully; as, to be sorely afflicted.
- 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,]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Easter 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, Easter, in A Few More Verses (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #49518, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/coolidge-few-more-verses/easter.html, id L23506.
Form and metre
Easter is 28 lines in 4 stanzas of 7 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 A-BBACC tideA · spring · snowB · blowB · bideA · waitC · lateC
- 2 A-BBACC tideA · spring · noonB · soonB · hideA · thrillC · willC
- 3 A-BBACC tideA · spring · longB · strongB · triedA · sunC · oneC
- 4 A-BBA-- tideA · spring · dayB · awayB · abideA · be · opportunity
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 |
|---|---|---|
| FLOWERS die not in the winter-tide, | 8 | /····/˘· |
| Although they wake in spring; | 6 | ······ |
| Pillowed ’neath mounds of fleecy snow, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| While skies are gray and storm-winds blow, | 8 | ········ |
| All patiently they bide, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Fettered by frost, and bravely wait, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| And trust in spring or soon or late. | 8 | ········ |
| Hope dies not in the winter-tide, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Though sore it longs for spring; | 6 | ······ |
| Cool morn may ripen to hot noon, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And evening dusks creep all too soon | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The noonday sun to hide; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But through the night there stir and thrill | 8 | ········ |
| The sleeping strengths of life and will. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For souls there comes a winter-tide, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For souls there blooms a spring; | 6 | ······ |
| Though winter days may linger long, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And snows be deep and frosts be strong, | 8 | ········ |
| And faith be sorely tried, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When Christ shall shine, who is the Sun, | 8 | ········ |
| Spring-time shall be for every one. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Oh, mighty Lord of winter-tide! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Oh, loving Lord of spring! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Come to our hearts this Easter Day, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Melt all the prisoning ice away, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And evermore abide, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Making both good and ill to be | 8 | /˘······ |
| Thy blessed opportunity. | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
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.