Sapientia Lunae
The wisdom of the world said unto me:"Go forth and run, the race is to the brave;Perchance some honour tarrieth for thee!""As tarrieth," I said, "for sure, the grave."For I had pondered on a rune of roses,Which to her votaries the moon discloses.
The wisdom of the world said: "There are bays:Go forth and run, for victory is good,After the stress of the laborious days.""Yet," said I, "shall I be the worms' sweet food,"As I went musing on a rune of roses,Which in her hour, the pale, soft moon discloses.
Then said my voices: "Wherefore strive or run,On dusty highways ever, a vain race?The long night cometh, starless, void of sun,What light shall serve thee like her golden face?"For I had pondered on a rune of roses,And knew some secrets which the moon discloses.
"Yea," said I, "for her eyes are pure and sweetAs lilies, and the fragrance of her hairIs many laurels; and it is not meetTo run for shadows when the prize is here";And I went reading in that rune of rosesWhich to her votaries the moon discloses.
Cease smiling, Dear! a little while be sad,Here in the silence, under the wan moon;Sweet are thine eyes, but how can I be glad,Knowing they change so soon?
For Love's sake, Dear, be silent! Cover meIn the deep darkness of thy falling hair:Fear is upon me and the memoryOf what is all men's share.
O could this moment be perpetuate!Must we grow old, and leaden-eyed and gray,And taste no more the wild and passionateLove sorrows of to-day?
Grown old, and faded, Sweet! and past desire,Let memory die, lest there be too much ruth,Remembering the old, extinguished fireOf our divine, lost youth.
O red pomegranate of thy perfect mouth!My lips' life-fruitage, might I taste and dieHere in thy garden, where the scented southWind chastens agony;
Reap death from thy live lips in one long kiss,And look my last into thine eyes and rest:What sweets had life to me sweeter than thisSwift dying on thy breast?
Or, if that may not be, for Love's sake, Dear!Keep silence still, and dream that we shall lie,Red mouth to mouth, entwined, and always hearThe south wind's melody,
Here in thy garden, through the sighing boughs,Beyond the reach of time and chance and change,And bitter life and death, and broken vows,That sadden and estrange.
Words in this poem
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- rune n.
- A letter, or character, belonging to the written language of the ancient Norsemen, or Scandinavians; in a wider sense, applied to the letters of the ancient nations of Northern Europe in general. [AS. run a rune, a secret, a mystery; akin to Icel. run, OHG. & Goth. runa a secret, secret colloquy, G. & Dan. rune rune, and probably to Gr. 'ereyna^n to searc]
- 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,]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- starless a.
- Being without stars; having no stars visible; as, a starless night.
- perpetuate v. t.
- To make perpetual; to cause to endure, or to be continued, indefinitely; to preserve from extinction or oblivion; to eternize. [L. perpetuatus, p.p. of perpetuare to perpetuate. See Perpetual.]
- ruth n.
- Sorrow for the misery of another; pity; tenderness. [From Rue, v.: cf. Icel. hryggedh, hrygedh.]
- reap n.
- A bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut. Wright. [Cf. AS. rip harvest. See Reap, v.]
- sadden v. t.
- To make sad. Specifically: (a) To render heavy or cohesive.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sapientia Lunae is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With a Memoir by Arthur Symons, Project Gutenberg ebook #8497; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ernest Dowson, Sapientia Lunae, in The Poems of Ernest Dowson (1896–1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8497, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dowson-poems/sapientia-lunae.html, id L01653.
Form and metre
Sapientia Lunae is 56 lines in 12 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 5 of the 12 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.5 syllables. 14 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCC meA · braveB · theeA · graveB · rosesC · disclosesC
- 2 A-A-BB baysA · good · daysA · food · rosesB · disclosesB
- 3 ABABCC runA · raceB · sunA · faceB · rosesC · disclosesC
- 4 ABABCC sweetA · hairB · meetA · hereB · rosesC · disclosesC
- 5 ABAB sadA · moonB · gladA · soonB
- 6 -A-A me · hairA · memory · shareA
- 7 ABAB perpetuateA · grayB · passionateA · dayB
- 8 ABAB desireA · ruthB · fireA · youthB
- 9 A-A- mouthA · die · southA · agony
- 10 ABAB kissA · restB · thisA · breastB
- 11 A-A- dearA · lie · hearA · melody
- 12 ABAB boughsA · changeB · vowsA · estrangeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The wisdom of the world said unto me: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| "Go forth and run, the race is to the brave; | 10 | ·········· |
| Perchance some honour tarrieth for thee!" | 9 | ˘/·/˘···· |
| "As tarrieth," I said, "for sure, the grave." | 9 | ········· |
| For I had pondered on a rune of roses, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Which to her votaries the moon discloses. | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| The wisdom of the world said: "There are bays: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Go forth and run, for victory is good, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| After the stress of the laborious days." | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| "Yet," said I, "shall I be the worms' sweet food," | 10 | ·········· |
| As I went musing on a rune of roses, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Which in her hour, the pale, soft moon discloses. | 11 | ···/····˘/˘ |
| Then said my voices: "Wherefore strive or run, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| On dusty highways ever, a vain race? | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘··· |
| The long night cometh, starless, void of sun, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| What light shall serve thee like her golden face?" | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| For I had pondered on a rune of roses, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| And knew some secrets which the moon discloses. | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| "Yea," said I, "for her eyes are pure and sweet | 10 | ·········· |
| As lilies, and the fragrance of her hair | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Is many laurels; and it is not meet | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| To run for shadows when the prize is here"; | 10 | ···/······ |
| And I went reading in that rune of roses | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Which to her votaries the moon discloses. | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| Cease smiling, Dear! a little while be sad, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Here in the silence, under the wan moon; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Sweet are thine eyes, but how can I be glad, | 10 | ·········· |
| Knowing they change so soon? | 6 | /˘···· |
| For Love's sake, Dear, be silent! Cover me | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| In the deep darkness of thy falling hair: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Fear is upon me and the memory | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Of what is all men's share. | 6 | ······ |
| O could this moment be perpetuate! | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Must we grow old, and leaden-eyed and gray, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And taste no more the wild and passionate | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Love sorrows of to-day? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Grown old, and faded, Sweet! and past desire, | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Let memory die, lest there be too much ruth, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Remembering the old, extinguished fire | 11 | ˘/˘˘··˘/˘/˘ |
| Of our divine, lost youth. | 7 | ·/˘˘/·· |
| O red pomegranate of thy perfect mouth! | 9 | ··/˘··/·· |
| My lips' life-fruitage, might I taste and die | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Here in thy garden, where the scented south | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Wind chastens agony; | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Reap death from thy live lips in one long kiss, | 10 | ·········· |
| And look my last into thine eyes and rest: | 10 | ·········· |
| What sweets had life to me sweeter than this | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Swift dying on thy breast? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Or, if that may not be, for Love's sake, Dear! | 10 | ·········· |
| Keep silence still, and dream that we shall lie, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Red mouth to mouth, entwined, and always hear | 10 | ····˘/·/·· |
| The south wind's melody, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Here in thy garden, through the sighing boughs, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Beyond the reach of time and chance and change, | 10 | ·········· |
| And bitter life and death, and broken vows, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| That sadden and estrange. | 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.