The Crocuses
They heard the South wind sighingA murmur of the rain;And they knew that Earth was longingTo see them all again.
While the snow-drops still were sleepingBeneath the silent sod;They felt their new life pulsingWithin the dark, cold clod.
Not a daffodil nor daisyHad dared to raise its head;Not a fairhaired dandelionPeeped timid from its bed;
Though a tremor of the winterDid shivering through them run;Yet they lifted up their foreheadsTo greet the vernal sun.
And the sunbeams gave them welcome.As did the morning airAnd scattered o'er their simple robesRich tints of beauty rare.
Soon a host of lovely flowersFrom vales and woodland burst;But in all that fair processionThe crocuses were first.
First to weave for Earth a chapletTo crown her dear old head;And to beautify the pathwayWhere winter still did tread.
And their loved and white haired motherSmiled sweetly 'neath the touch,When she knew her faithful childrenWere loving her so much.
Words in this poem
- clod n.
- A lump or mass, especially of earth, turf, or clay. [OE. clodde, latter form of clot. See Clot.]
- chaplet n.
- A garland or wreath to be worn on the head. [F. chapelet, dim. of OF. chapel hat, garland, dim. fr. LL. cappa. See Cap, and cf. Chapelet, Chapeau.]
- pathway n.
- A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Crocuses is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #679; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, The Crocuses, in Poems (1854–1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #679, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/harper-poems/the-crocuses-2.html, id L10530.
Form and metre
The Crocuses is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 -A-A sighing · rainA · longing · againA
- 2 -A-A sleeping · sodA · pulsing · clodA
- 3 -A-A daisy · headA · dandelion · bedA
- 4 -A-A winter · runA · foreheads · sunA
- 5 -A-A welcome · airA · robes · rareA
- 6 -A-A flowers · burstA · procession · firstA
- 7 -A-A chaplet · headA · pathway · treadA
- 8 -A-A mother · touchA · children · muchA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| They heard the South wind sighing | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| A murmur of the rain; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And they knew that Earth was longing | 8 | ······/˘ |
| To see them all again. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| While the snow-drops still were sleeping | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Beneath the silent sod; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| They felt their new life pulsing | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Within the dark, cold clod. | 6 | ······ |
| Not a daffodil nor daisy | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Had dared to raise its head; | 7 | ··˘···· |
| Not a fairhaired dandelion | 8 | ··/˘/˘·˘ |
| Peeped timid from its bed; | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Though a tremor of the winter | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Did shivering through them run; | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Yet they lifted up their foreheads | 8 | ··/˘··/· |
| To greet the vernal sun. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And the sunbeams gave them welcome. | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| As did the morning air | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And scattered o'er their simple robes | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Rich tints of beauty rare. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Soon a host of lovely flowers | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| From vales and woodland burst; | 6 | ···/·· |
| But in all that fair procession | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| The crocuses were first. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| First to weave for Earth a chaplet | 8 | ······/˘ |
| To crown her dear old head; | 6 | ······ |
| And to beautify the pathway | 8 | ··/˘··/· |
| Where winter still did tread. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And their loved and white haired mother | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Smiled sweetly 'neath the touch, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| When she knew her faithful children | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Were loving her so much. | 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.