The Land of Kisses
Where is the Land of Kisses,Can you tell, tell, tell?Ah, yes; I know its blissesVery well!'Tis not beneath the swingingOf the Jessamine,Where gossip-birds sit singingIn the vine!
Where is the Land of Kisses,Do you know, know, know?Is it such a land as this is?No, truly no!Nor is it 'neath the Myrtle,Where each butterflyCan brush your lady's kirtle,Flitting by!
Where is the Land of Kisses,Can you say, say, say?Yes; there a red lip pressesMine ev'ry day!But 'tis not where the PansiesOpen purple eyes,And gossip all their fanciesTo the skies!
I know the Land of KissesPassing well, well, well;Who seeks it often misses--Let me tell.Fly, lover, like a swallow,Where your lady goes;You'll find it if you follow,'Neath the Rose.
Words in this poem
- kirtle n.
- A garment varying in form and use at different times, and worn doth by men and women. [OE. kirtel, curtel, AS. cyrtel; skin to Icel. kyrtill, Sw. kjortel, Dan. kiortel, kiole.]
- flitting n.
- A flying with lightness and celerity; a fluttering.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Land of Kisses is in the public domain. This text is taken from Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #6815; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Isabella Valancy Crawford, The Land of Kisses, in Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie and Other Poems (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6815, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crawford-poems/the-land-of-kisses.html, id L11157.
Form and metre
The Land of Kisses is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.6 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABABCDCD kissesA · tellB · blissesA · wellB · swingingC · jessamineD · singingC · vineD
- 2 ABABCDCD kissesA · knowB · isA · noB · myrtleC · butterflyD · kirtleC · byD
- 3 -ABABBBB kisses · sayA · pressesB · dayA · pansiesB · eyesB · fanciesB · skiesB
- 4 ABABCDCD kissesA · wellB · missesA · tellB · swallowC · goesD · followC · roseD
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Where is the Land of Kisses, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Can you tell, tell, tell? | 5 | ····· |
| Ah, yes; I know its blisses | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Very well! | 3 | /˘· |
| 'Tis not beneath the swinging | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Of the Jessamine, | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| Where gossip-birds sit singing | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| In the vine! | 3 | ··· |
| Where is the Land of Kisses, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Do you know, know, know? | 5 | ····· |
| Is it such a land as this is? | 8 | ········ |
| No, truly no! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Nor is it 'neath the Myrtle, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Where each butterfly | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Can brush your lady's kirtle, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Flitting by! | 3 | /˘· |
| Where is the Land of Kisses, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Can you say, say, say? | 5 | ····· |
| Yes; there a red lip presses | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Mine ev'ry day! | 4 | ···· |
| But 'tis not where the Pansies | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Open purple eyes, | 5 | /˘/˘· |
| And gossip all their fancies | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| To the skies! | 3 | ··· |
| I know the Land of Kisses | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Passing well, well, well; | 5 | /˘··· |
| Who seeks it often misses-- | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Let me tell. | 3 | ··· |
| Fly, lover, like a swallow, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Where your lady goes; | 5 | ··/˘· |
| You'll find it if you follow, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| 'Neath the Rose. | 3 | ··· |
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.