The Place Where the Old Cleek Broke
Life is hollow to the golfer, of however high his rank,If the dock-leaf and the nettle grow too free,If a bramble bar his progress, if he's bunkered by a bank,If his golf-ball jerks and wobbles off the tee.There's a ditch I never pass, full of stones and broken glass,And I'd sooner lift my ball and count a stroke,For the tears my vision blot when I see the fatal spot,'Tis the place where my old cleek broke.
There's his haft upon the table, there's his head upon a chair;And a better never felt the summer rain;I may curse and I may swear, my umbrella-stand is bare,I shall never use my gallant cleek again!With what unaccustomed speed would he strike the Golf-ball teed!How it sounded on his metal at each stroke!Not a flyer in the game such parabolas could claim,At the place where the old cleek broke!
Was he cracked? I hardly think it. Did he slip? I do not know.He had struck the ball for forty yards or more;He was driving smooth and even, just as hard as he could go,I had never seen him striking so before.But I hardly can complain, for there must have been a strainI had forced beyond the compass of a joke--And no club, however strong, could have lasted over longAt the place where the old cleek broke!
There are men, both staid and sound, who hold it happiness unique,At which only the irreverent can scoff,That is reached by means of brassey, driver, niblick, spoon, or cleek,And that life is not worth living without Golf.Well, I hope it may be so; for myself I only knowThat I never more shall try another stroke;Yes, I've wearied of the sport, since a lesson I was taught,At the place where the old cleek broke.
Words in this poem
- golfer n.
- One who plays golf.
- bramble n.
- Any plant of the genus Rubus, including the raspberry and blackberry. Hence: Any rough, prickly shrub. [OE. brembil, AS.brbramal), fr. the same root as E. broom, As. br. See Broom.]
- cleek n.
- A large hook or crook, as for a pot over a fire; specif., an iron- headed golf club with a straight, narrow face and a long shaft.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- haft n.
- A handle; that part of an instrument or vessel taken into the hand, and by which it is held and used; -- said chiefly of a knife, sword, or dagger; the hilt. [AS. hæft; akin to D. & G. heft, Icel. hepti, and to E. Heave, or have. Cf. Heft.]
- 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,]
- flyer n.
- One that uses wings. [See Flier.]
- cracked a.
- Coarsely ground or broken; as, cracked wheat.
- unique a.
- Being without a like or equal; unmatched; unequaled; unparalleled; single in kind or excellence; sole. [F. unique; cf. It. unico; from L. unicus, from unus one. See One.]
- niblick n.
- A kind of golf stick used to lift the ball out of holes, ruts, etc.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Place Where the Old Cleek Broke is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verse and Worse, Project Gutenberg ebook #36702; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Harry Graham, The Place Where the Old Cleek Broke, in Verse and Worse (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36702, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graham-verse-and-worse/the-place-where-the-old-cleek-broke.html, id L23349.
Form and metre
The Place Where the Old Cleek Broke is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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-C-C rankA · freeB · bankA · teeB · glass · strokeC · spot · brokeC
- 2 ABAB-C-C chairA · rainB · bareA · againB · teed · strokeC · claim · brokeC
- 3 ABAB-C-C knowA · moreB · goA · beforeB · strain · jokeC · long · brokeC
- 4 A-A--B-B uniqueA · scoff · cleekA · golf · know · strokeB · taught · brokeB
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Life is hollow to the golfer, of however high his rank, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| If the dock-leaf and the nettle grow too free, | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| If a bramble bar his progress, if he's bunkered by a bank, | 15 | ··/˘··/···/˘··· |
| If his golf-ball jerks and wobbles off the tee. | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| There's a ditch I never pass, full of stones and broken glass, | 13 | ····/·····/˘· |
| And I'd sooner lift my ball and count a stroke, | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| For the tears my vision blot when I see the fatal spot, | 14 | ····/˘·····/˘· |
| 'Tis the place where my old cleek broke. | 8 | ········ |
| There's his haft upon the table, there's his head upon a chair; | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| And a better never felt the summer rain; | 10 | ··/˘/··/˘· |
| I may curse and I may swear, my umbrella-stand is bare, | 14 | ········˘/˘··· |
| I shall never use my gallant cleek again! | 10 | ··/··/˘·˘/ |
| With what unaccustomed speed would he strike the Golf-ball teed! | 14 | ···˘/˘········ |
| How it sounded on his metal at each stroke! | 11 | ··/˘··/˘··· |
| Not a flyer in the game such parabolas could claim, | 12 | ··/····˘/˘·· |
| At the place where the old cleek broke! | 8 | ········ |
| Was he cracked? I hardly think it. Did he slip? I do not know. | 15 | ····/˘········· |
| He had struck the ball for forty yards or more; | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| He was driving smooth and even, just as hard as he could go, | 14 | ··/˘··/······· |
| I had never seen him striking so before. | 10 | ··/··/˘··· |
| But I hardly can complain, for there must have been a strain | 14 | ··/˘·˘/······· |
| I had forced beyond the compass of a joke-- | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| And no club, however strong, could have lasted over long | 13 | ····/˘···/˘·· |
| At the place where the old cleek broke! | 8 | ········ |
| There are men, both staid and sound, who hold it happiness unique, | 14 | ··········/˘˘/ |
| At which only the irreverent can scoff, | 10 | ··/˘·˘/˘·· |
| That is reached by means of brassey, driver, niblick, spoon, or cleek, | 14 | ········//˘··· |
| And that life is not worth living without Golf. | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| Well, I hope it may be so; for myself I only know | 14 | ·········/·/˘· |
| That I never more shall try another stroke; | 10 | ··/···˘/˘· |
| Yes, I've wearied of the sport, since a lesson I was taught, | 14 | ··/˘·····/˘··· |
| At the place where the old cleek broke. | 8 | ········ |
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