The Law of Death
The song of Kilvani: fairest sheIn all the land of Savatthi.She had one child, as sweet and gayAnd dear to her as the light of day.She was so young, and he so fair,The same bright eyes and the same dark hair;To see them by the blossomy way,They seemed two children at their play.
There came a death-dart from the sky,Kilvani saw her darling die.The glimmering shade his eyes invades,Out of his cheek the red bloom fades;His warm heart feels the icy chill,The round limbs shudder, and are still.And yet Kilvani held him fastLong after life's last pulse was past,As if her kisses could restoreThe smile gone out for evermore.
But when she saw her child was dead,She scattered ashes on her head,And seized the small corpse, pale and sweet,And rushing wildly through the street,She sobbing fell at Buddha's feet.
"Master, all-helpful, help me now!Here at thy feet I humbly bow;Have mercy, Buddha, help me now!"She grovelled on the marble floor,And kissed the dead child o'er and o'er.And suddenly upon the airThere fell the answer to her prayer:"Bring me to-night a lotus tiedWith thread from a house where none has died."
She rose, and laughed with thankful joy,Sure that the god would save the boy.She found a lotus by the stream;She plucked it from its noonday dream,And then from door to door she fared,To ask what house by Death was spared.Her heart grew cold to see the eyesOf all dilate with slow surprise:"Kilvani, thou hast lost thy head;Nothing can help a child that's dead.There stands not by the Ganges' sideA house where none hath ever died."Thus, through the long and weary day,From every door she bore awayWithin her heart, and on her arm,A heavier load, a deeper harm.By gates of gold and ivory,By wattled huts of poverty,The same refrain heard poor Kilvani,
The evening came--so still and fleet--And overtook her hurrying feet.And, heartsick, by the sacred faneShe fell, and prayed the god again.She sobbed and beat her bursting breast:"Ah, thou hast mocked me, Mightiest!Lo! I have wandered far and wide;There stands no house where none hath died."And Buddha answered, in a toneSoft as a flute at twilight blown,But grand as heaven and strong as deathTo him who hears with ears of faith:"Child, thou art answered. Murmur not!Bow, and accept the common lot."
Kilvani heard with reverence meet,And laid her child at Buddha's feet.
Words in this poem
- blossomy a.
- Full of blossoms; flowery.
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- corpse n.
- A human body in general, whether living or dead; -- sometimes contemptuosly. [OF. cors (sometimes written corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
- sobbing n.
- A series of short, convulsive inspirations, the glottis being suddenly closed so that little or no air enters into the lungs.
- humbly adv.
- With humility; lowly.
- thankful a.
- Obtaining or deserving thanks; thankworthy. [AS. Þancfull.]
- noonday n.
- Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- wattled a.
- Furnished with wattles, or pendent fleshy processes at the chin or throat.
- heartsick a.
- Sick at heart; extremely depressed in spirits; very despondent. [AS. heoriseóc.]
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Law of Death 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, The Law of Death, in Pike County Ballads and Other Poems (1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6062, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hay-pike-county/the-law-of-death.html, id L21609.
Form and metre
The Law of Death is 67 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 84% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 --AABBAA she · savatthi · gayA · dayA · fairB · hairB · wayA · playA
- 2 AABBCCDDEE skyA · dieA · invadesB · fadesB · chillC · stillC · fastD · pastD · restoreE · evermoreE
- 3 AABBB deadA · headA · sweetB · streetB · feetB
- 4 AAA--BBCC nowA · bowA · nowA · floor · o'er · airB · prayerB · tiedC · diedC
- 5 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH--- joyA · boyA · streamB · dreamB · faredC · sparedC · eyesD · surpriseD · headE · deadE · sideF · diedF · dayG · awayG · armH · harmH · ivory · poverty · kilvani
- 6 AABBCCDDEE--FF fleetA · feetA · faneB · againB · breastC · mightiestC · wideD · diedD · toneE · blownE · death · faith · notF · lotF
- 7 AA meetA · feetA
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The song of Kilvani: fairest she | 9 | ······/˘· |
| In all the land of Savatthi. | 8 | ········ |
| She had one child, as sweet and gay | 8 | ········ |
| And dear to her as the light of day. | 9 | ········· |
| She was so young, and he so fair, | 8 | ········ |
| The same bright eyes and the same dark hair; | 9 | ········· |
| To see them by the blossomy way, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| They seemed two children at their play. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There came a death-dart from the sky, | 8 | ········ |
| Kilvani saw her darling die. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The glimmering shade his eyes invades, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Out of his cheek the red bloom fades; | 8 | ········ |
| His warm heart feels the icy chill, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The round limbs shudder, and are still. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And yet Kilvani held him fast | 8 | ········ |
| Long after life's last pulse was past, | 8 | ········ |
| As if her kisses could restore | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The smile gone out for evermore. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But when she saw her child was dead, | 8 | ········ |
| She scattered ashes on her head, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And seized the small corpse, pale and sweet, | 8 | ········ |
| And rushing wildly through the street, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| She sobbing fell at Buddha's feet. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "Master, all-helpful, help me now! | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Here at thy feet I humbly bow; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Have mercy, Buddha, help me now!" | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| She grovelled on the marble floor, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And kissed the dead child o'er and o'er. | 8 | ········ |
| And suddenly upon the air | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| There fell the answer to her prayer: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Bring me to-night a lotus tied | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With thread from a house where none has died." | 9 | ········· |
| She rose, and laughed with thankful joy, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Sure that the god would save the boy. | 8 | ········ |
| She found a lotus by the stream; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| She plucked it from its noonday dream, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And then from door to door she fared, | 8 | ········ |
| To ask what house by Death was spared. | 8 | ········ |
| Her heart grew cold to see the eyes | 8 | ········ |
| Of all dilate with slow surprise: | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| "Kilvani, thou hast lost thy head; | 8 | ········ |
| Nothing can help a child that's dead. | 8 | /˘······ |
| There stands not by the Ganges' side | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A house where none hath ever died." | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thus, through the long and weary day, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| From every door she bore away | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Within her heart, and on her arm, | 8 | ········ |
| A heavier load, a deeper harm. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| By gates of gold and ivory, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| By wattled huts of poverty, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| The same refrain heard poor Kilvani, | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| The evening came--so still and fleet-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And overtook her hurrying feet. | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And, heartsick, by the sacred fane | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| She fell, and prayed the god again. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| She sobbed and beat her bursting breast: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "Ah, thou hast mocked me, Mightiest! | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Lo! I have wandered far and wide; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There stands no house where none hath died." | 8 | ········ |
| And Buddha answered, in a tone | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Soft as a flute at twilight blown, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| But grand as heaven and strong as death | 8 | ···/···· |
| To him who hears with ears of faith: | 8 | ········ |
| "Child, thou art answered. Murmur not! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Bow, and accept the common lot." | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Kilvani heard with reverence meet, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And laid her child at Buddha's feet. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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.