Two Songs
A bee that was searching for sweets one dayThrough the gate of a rose garden happened to stray.In the heart of a rose he hid away,And forgot in his bliss the light of day,As sipping his honey he buzzed in song;Though day was waning, he lingered long,For the rose was sweet, so sweet.
A robin sits pluming his ruddy breast,And a madrigal sings to his love in her nest:"Oh, the skies they are blue, the fields are green,And the birds in your nest will soon be seen!"She hangs on his words with a thrill of love,And chirps to him as he sits aboveFor the song is sweet, so sweet.
A maiden was out on a summer's dayWith the winds and the waves and the flowers at play;And she met with a youth of gentle air,With the light of the sunshine on his hair.Together they wandered the flowers among;They loved, and loving they lingered long,For to love is sweet, so sweet.
Bird of my lady's bower,Sing her a song;Tell her that every hour,All the day long,Thoughts of her come to me,Filling my brainWith the warm ecstasyOf love's refrain.
Little bird! happy bird!Being so near,Where e'en her slightest wordThou mayest hear,Seeing her glancing eyes,Sheen of her hair,Thou art in paradise,--Would I were there.
I am so far away,Thou art so near;Plead with her, birdling gay,Plead with my dear.Rich be thy recompense,Fine be thy fee,If through thine eloquenceShe hearken me.
Words in this poem
- waning n.
- The act or process of waning, or decreasing.
- madrigal n.
- A little amorous poem, sometimes called a pastoral poem, containing some tender and delicate, though simple, thought. [It. madrigale, OIt. madriale, mandriale (cf. LL. matriale); of uncertain origin, possibly fr. It mandra flock, L. mandra stall, herd of cattle, Gr. madrigal, or]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- glancing a.
- Shooting, as light.
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- birdling n.
- A little bird; a nestling.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Two Songs is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Project Gutenberg ebook #18338; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Paul Laurence Dunbar, Two Songs, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/two-songs.html, id L00504.
Form and metre
Two Songs is 45 lines in 6 stanzas. 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AAAABB- dayA · strayA · awayA · dayA · songB · longB · sweet
- 2 AABBCC- breastA · nestA · greenB · seenB · loveC · aboveC · sweet
- 3 AABB--- dayA · playA · airB · hairB · among · long · sweet
- 4 ABAB-C-C bowerA · songB · hourA · longB · me · brainC · ecstasy · refrainC
- 5 ABAB-C-C birdA · nearB · wordA · hearB · eyes · hairC · paradise · thereC
- 6 ABABCDCD awayA · nearB · gayA · dearB · recompenseC · feeD · eloquenceC · meD
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A bee that was searching for sweets one day | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Through the gate of a rose garden happened to stray. | 12 | ······/˘/˘·· |
| In the heart of a rose he hid away, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And forgot in his bliss the light of day, | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| As sipping his honey he buzzed in song; | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| Though day was waning, he lingered long, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| For the rose was sweet, so sweet. | 7 | ······· |
| A robin sits pluming his ruddy breast, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘· |
| And a madrigal sings to his love in her nest: | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| "Oh, the skies they are blue, the fields are green, | 10 | ·········· |
| And the birds in your nest will soon be seen!" | 10 | ·········· |
| She hangs on his words with a thrill of love, | 10 | ·········· |
| And chirps to him as he sits above | 9 | ········· |
| For the song is sweet, so sweet. | 7 | ······· |
| A maiden was out on a summer's day | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| With the winds and the waves and the flowers at play; | 11 | ········/·· |
| And she met with a youth of gentle air, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| With the light of the sunshine on his hair. | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Together they wandered the flowers among; | 10 | ˘/˘·/˘·/·· |
| They loved, and loving they lingered long, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| For to love is sweet, so sweet. | 7 | ······· |
| Bird of my lady's bower, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Sing her a song; | 4 | ···· |
| Tell her that every hour, | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| All the day long, | 4 | ···· |
| Thoughts of her come to me, | 6 | ······ |
| Filling my brain | 4 | /˘·· |
| With the warm ecstasy | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Of love's refrain. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Little bird! happy bird! | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Being so near, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Where e'en her slightest word | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Thou mayest hear, | 3 | ··· |
| Seeing her glancing eyes, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Sheen of her hair, | 4 | ···· |
| Thou art in paradise,-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Would I were there. | 4 | ···· |
| I am so far away, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Thou art so near; | 4 | ···· |
| Plead with her, birdling gay, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Plead with my dear. | 4 | ···· |
| Rich be thy recompense, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Fine be thy fee, | 4 | ···· |
| If through thine eloquence | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| She hearken me. | 4 | ·/˘· |
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.