Regardant
As I lay at your feet that afternoon,Little we spoke,--you sat and mused,Humming a sweet old-fashioned tune,
And I worshipped you, with a sense confusedOf the good time gone and the bad on the way,While my hungry eyes your face perused,
To catch and brand on my soul for ayeThe subtle smile which had grown my doom.Drinking sweet poison hushed I lay
Till the sunset shimmered athwart the room.I rose to go. You stood so fairAnd dim in the dead day's tender gloom:
All at once, or ever I was aware,Flashed from you on me a warm strong waveOf passion and power; in the silence there
I fell on my knees, like a lover, or slave,With my wild hands clasping your slender waist;And my lips, with a sudden frenzy brave,
A madman's kiss on your girdle pressed,And I felt your calm heart's quickening beat,And your soft hands on me one instant rest.
And if God had loved me, how endlessly sweetHad He let my heart in its rapture burst,And throb its last at your firm small feet!
And when I was forth, I shuddered at firstAt my imminent bliss. As a soul in pain,Treading his desolate path accursed,
Looks back and dreams through his tears' dim rainThat by Heaven's wide gate the angels smile,Relenting, and beckon him back again,
And goes on, thrice damned by that devil's wile,--So sometimes burns in my weary brainThe thought that you loved me all the while.
Words in this poem
- afternoon n.
- The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- quickening n.
- The act or process of making or of becoming quick.
- endlessly adv.
- In an endless manner.
- throb v. i.
- To beat, or pulsate, with more than usual force or rapidity; to beat in consequence of agitation; to palpitate; -- said of the heart, pulse, etc. [OE. ; of uncertain origin; cf. Russ. trepete a trembling, and E. trepidation.]
- imminent a.
- Threatening to occur immediately; near at hand; impending; -- said especially of misfortune or peril. [L. imminens, p. pr. of imminere to project; pref. im- in + minere (in comp.) to jut, project. See Eminent.]
- beckon v. t.
- To make a significant sign to; hence, to summon, as by a motion of the hand.
- damned a.
- Sentenced to punishment in a future state; condemned; consigned to perdition.
- wile n.
- A trick or stratagem practiced for insnaring or deception; a sly, insidious; artifice; a beguilement; an allurement. [OE. wile, AS. wil; cf. Icel. v, væl. Cf. Guile.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Regardant is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pike County Ballads and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #6062; 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 Hay, Regardant, in Pike County Ballads and Other Poems (1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6062, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hay-pike-county/regardant.html, id L21637.
Form and metre
Regardant is 33 lines in 11 stanzas of 3 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%).
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 ABA afternoonA · musedB · tuneA
- 2 BCB confusedB · wayC · perusedB
- 3 -DC aye · doomD · layC
- 4 DED roomD · fairE · gloomD
- 5 EFE awareE · waveF · thereE
- 6 F-F slaveF · waist · braveF
- 7 GHG pressedG · beatH · restG
- 8 HIH sweetH · burstI · feetH
- 9 IJI firstI · painJ · accursedI
- 10 JK- rainJ · smileK · again
- 11 KJK wileK · brainJ · whileK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As I lay at your feet that afternoon, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Little we spoke,--you sat and mused, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Humming a sweet old-fashioned tune, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| And I worshipped you, with a sense confused | 10 | ··/˘····˘/ |
| Of the good time gone and the bad on the way, | 11 | ··········· |
| While my hungry eyes your face perused, | 9 | ··/˘···˘/ |
| To catch and brand on my soul for aye | 9 | ········· |
| The subtle smile which had grown my doom. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Drinking sweet poison hushed I lay | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Till the sunset shimmered athwart the room. | 10 | ··/·/˘˘/·· |
| I rose to go. You stood so fair | 8 | ········ |
| And dim in the dead day's tender gloom: | 9 | ······/˘· |
| All at once, or ever I was aware, | 9 | ····/··˘/ |
| Flashed from you on me a warm strong wave | 9 | ········· |
| Of passion and power; in the silence there | 10 | ·/˘·/··/˘· |
| I fell on my knees, like a lover, or slave, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| With my wild hands clasping your slender waist; | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| And my lips, with a sudden frenzy brave, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| A madman's kiss on your girdle pressed, | 9 | ·/····/˘· |
| And I felt your calm heart's quickening beat, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And your soft hands on me one instant rest. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And if God had loved me, how endlessly sweet | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Had He let my heart in its rapture burst, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And throb its last at your firm small feet! | 9 | ········· |
| And when I was forth, I shuddered at first | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| At my imminent bliss. As a soul in pain, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Treading his desolate path accursed, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Looks back and dreams through his tears' dim rain | 9 | ········· |
| That by Heaven's wide gate the angels smile, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Relenting, and beckon him back again, | 10 | ˘/˘·/˘··˘/ |
| And goes on, thrice damned by that devil's wile,-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| So sometimes burns in my weary brain | 9 | ·˘/···/˘· |
| The thought that you loved me all the while. | 9 | ········· |
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.