Under the Snow
UNDER the snow lie sweet things out of sight,Couching like birds beneath a downy breast;They cluster ’neath the coverlet warm and white,And bide the winter-time in hopeful rest.
There are the hyacinths, holding ivory tipsPointed and ready for a hint of sun;And hooded violets, with dim, fragrant lipsAsleep and dreaming fairy dreams each one.
There lurk a myriad quick and linkèd roots,Coiled for a spring when the ripe time is near;The brave chrysanthemum’s pale yellow shootsAnd daffodils, the vanguard of the year;
The nodding snowdrop and the columbine;The hardy crocus, prompt to hear a call;Pensile wistaria and thick woodbine;And valley lilies, sweetest of them all.
All undismayed, although the drifts are deep,All sure of spring and strong of cheer they lie;And we, who see but snows, we smile and keepThe selfsame courage in the by and by.
Ah! the same drifts shroud other precious things,—Flower-like faces, pallid now and chill,Feet laid to rest after long journeyings,And fair and folded hands forever still.
All undismayed, in deep and hushed repose,Waiting a sweeter, further spring, they lie;And we, whose yearning eyes see but the snows,Shall we not trust, like them, the by and by?
Words in this poem
- couching n.
- The operation of putting down or displacing the opaque lens in cataract.
- 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.]
- hopeful a.
- Full of hope, or agreeable expectation; inclined to hope; expectant.
- myriad n.
- The number of ten thousand; ten thousand persons or things. [Gr. myriade.]
- vanguard n.
- The troops who march in front of an army; the advance guard; the van. [For vantguard, avantguard, F. avant-garde; avant before, fore + garde guard. See Avant, Ab-,Ante-, and Guard, and cf. Advance, Vamp, Van of an army, Vaward.]
- columbine a.
- Of or pertaining to a dove; dovelike; dove-colored. [L. columbinus, fr. columba dove.]
- pensile a.
- Hanging; suspended; pendent; pendulous. [L. pensilis, fr. pendere to hang: cf. OE. pensil. See Pendant.]
- wistaria n.
- A genus of climbing leguminous plants bearing long, pendulous clusters of pale bluish flowers. [NL.]
- selfsame a.
- Precisely the same; the very same; identical. [Self, a. + same.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Under the Snow 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, Under the Snow, in A Few More Verses (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #49518, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/coolidge-few-more-verses/under-the-snow.html, id L23480.
Form and metre
Under the Snow is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABAB sightA · breastB · whiteA · restB
- 2 ABAB tipsA · sunB · lipsA · oneB
- 3 ABAB rootsA · nearB · shootsA · yearB
- 4 ABAB columbineA · callB · woodbineA · allB
- 5 ABAB deepA · lieB · keepA · byB
- 6 ABAB thingsA · chillB · journeyingsA · stillB
- 7 ABAB reposeA · lieB · snowsA · byB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| UNDER the snow lie sweet things out of sight, | 10 | ·········· |
| Couching like birds beneath a downy breast; | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| They cluster ’neath the coverlet warm and white, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘··· |
| And bide the winter-time in hopeful rest. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| There are the hyacinths, holding ivory tips | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Pointed and ready for a hint of sun; | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| And hooded violets, with dim, fragrant lips | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Asleep and dreaming fairy dreams each one. | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| There lurk a myriad quick and linkèd roots, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Coiled for a spring when the ripe time is near; | 10 | ·········· |
| The brave chrysanthemum’s pale yellow shoots | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| And daffodils, the vanguard of the year; | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| The nodding snowdrop and the columbine; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The hardy crocus, prompt to hear a call; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Pensile wistaria and thick woodbine; | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘··/˘ |
| And valley lilies, sweetest of them all. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| All undismayed, although the drifts are deep, | 10 | ···˘······ |
| All sure of spring and strong of cheer they lie; | 10 | ·········· |
| And we, who see but snows, we smile and keep | 10 | ·········· |
| The selfsame courage in the by and by. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Ah! the same drifts shroud other precious things,— | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Flower-like faces, pallid now and chill, | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Feet laid to rest after long journeyings, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| And fair and folded hands forever still. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| All undismayed, in deep and hushed repose, | 10 | ···˘····˘/ |
| Waiting a sweeter, further spring, they lie; | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| And we, whose yearning eyes see but the snows, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Shall we not trust, like them, the by and by? | 10 | ·········· |
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