The Fires of God II
Was I not man? Could I not rise aloneAbove the shifting of the things that be,Rise to the crest of all the stars and seeThe ways of all the world as from a throne?Was I not man, with proud imperial willTo cancel all the secrets of high heaven?Should not my sole unbridled purpose fillAll hidden paths with light when once was rivenGod’s veil by my indomitable will?
So dreamt I, little man of little vision,Great only in unconsecrated pride;Man’s pity grew from pity to derision,And still I thought, “Albeit they deride,Yet is it mine uncharted ways to dareUnknown to these,And they shall stumble darkly, unawareOf solemn mysteriesWhereof the key is mine alone to bear.”
So I forgot my God, and I forgotThe holy sweet communion of men,And moved in desolate places, where are notMeek hands held out with patient healing whenThe hours are heavy with uncharitable pain;No company but vainAnd arrogant thoughts were with me at my side.And ever to myself I lied.Saying “Apart from all men thus I goTo know the things that they may never know.”
Words in this poem
- unbridled a.
- Loosed from the bridle, or as from the bridle; hence, unrestrained; licentious; violent; as, unbridled passions. [Pref. un- not + bridled.]
- albeit conj.
- Even though; although; notwithstanding. [OE. al be although it be, where al is our all. Cf. Although.]
- deride v. t.
- To laugh at with contempt; to laugh to scorn; to turn to ridicule or make sport of; to mock; to scoff at. [L. deridere, derisum; de- + rid to laugh. See Ridicule.]
- 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,]
- unaware a.
- Not aware; not noticing; giving no heed; thoughtless; inattentive.
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- uncharitable a.
- Not charitable; contrary to charity; severe in judging; harsh; censorious; as, uncharitable opinions or zeal.
- lied n.
- A lay; a German song. It differs from the French chanson, and the Italian canzone, all three being national. [G.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Fires of God II is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, 1908-1919, Project Gutenberg ebook #51575; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Drinkwater, The Fires of God II, in Poems, 1908-1919 (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #51575, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drinkwater-poems/the-fires-of-god-ii.html, id L23035.
Form and metre
The Fires of God II is 28 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 ABBACACAC aloneA · beB · seeB · throneA · willC · heavenA · fillC · rivenA · willC
- 2 ABABCDCDC visionA · prideB · derisionA · derideB · dareC · theseD · unawareC · mysteriesD · bearC
- 3 ABABCCDDEE forgotA · menB · notA · whenB · painC · vainC · sideD · liedD · goE · knowE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Was I not man? Could I not rise alone | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Above the shifting of the things that be, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Rise to the crest of all the stars and see | 10 | ·········· |
| The ways of all the world as from a throne? | 10 | ·········· |
| Was I not man, with proud imperial will | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| To cancel all the secrets of high heaven? | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Should not my sole unbridled purpose fill | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| All hidden paths with light when once was riven | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| God’s veil by my indomitable will? | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘· |
| So dreamt I, little man of little vision, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Great only in unconsecrated pride; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Man’s pity grew from pity to derision, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| And still I thought, “Albeit they deride, | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Yet is it mine uncharted ways to dare | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Unknown to these, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| And they shall stumble darkly, unaware | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Of solemn mysteries | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Whereof the key is mine alone to bear.” | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| So I forgot my God, and I forgot | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| The holy sweet communion of men, | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘·· |
| And moved in desolate places, where are not | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Meek hands held out with patient healing when | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| The hours are heavy with uncharitable pain; | 12 | ·/·/˘·˘/˘˘˘· |
| No company but vain | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| And arrogant thoughts were with me at my side. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And ever to myself I lied. | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Saying “Apart from all men thus I go | 10 | /˘˘/······ |
| To know the things that they may never know.” | 10 | ·······/˘· |
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.