Homeward Bound XL
My child, we two were children,As lively as ever you saw,We crept into the hencoop,And we hid there beneath the straw.
And there, like cocks, crowed loudly,While folk went passing by."Kickery-koo!" they fancied,'Twas really the cock's own cry.
The chests that lay in the courtyard,With paper we overlaid.Therein we lived together;An excellent house we made.
The old cat of our neighborWould visit us at whiles;We gave her bows and curtsies,And compliments and smiles.
After her health we inquiredGravely whenever she came.To many an ancient TabbySince then we have done the same.
We talked like grown folks sagely,And sat there oft and long,Complaining how all had altered,Since the days when we were young.
How love and faith and friendshipHad vanished, the world was bare;How dear were tea and coffee,And money had grown so rare!
Those childish games are over,All things roll on with youth,--Money, the world, and the seasons,And faith and love and truth.
Words in this poem
- hencoop n.
- A coop or cage for hens.
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- whiles conj.
- During the time that; while. Chaucer. Fuller.
- gravely adv.
- In a grave manner.
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- sagely adv.
- In a sage manner; wisely.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Homeward Bound XL is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #31726, the Emma Lazarus translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Heinrich Heine, Homeward Bound XL, in Poems and Ballads (1881), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #31726, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/heine-poems-ballads/homeward-bound-xl.html, id L15366.
Form and metre
Homeward Bound XL 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%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 14 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% 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 children · sawA · hencoop · strawA
- 2 -A-A loudly · byA · fancied · cryA
- 3 -A-A courtyard · overlaidA · together · madeA
- 4 -A-A neighbor · whilesA · curtsies · smilesA
- 5 -A-A inquired · cameA · tabby · sameA
- 7 -A-A friendship · bareA · coffee · rareA
- 8 -A-A over · youthA · seasons · truthA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| My child, we two were children, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| As lively as ever you saw, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| We crept into the hencoop, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And we hid there beneath the straw. | 8 | ········ |
| And there, like cocks, crowed loudly, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| While folk went passing by. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "Kickery-koo!" they fancied, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| 'Twas really the cock's own cry. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The chests that lay in the courtyard, | 8 | ······/· |
| With paper we overlaid. | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Therein we lived together; | 8 | ····˘˘/˘ |
| An excellent house we made. | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| The old cat of our neighbor | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Would visit us at whiles; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| We gave her bows and curtsies, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And compliments and smiles. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| After her health we inquired | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Gravely whenever she came. | 7 | /˘˘/˘·· |
| To many an ancient Tabby | 8 | ·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Since then we have done the same. | 7 | ······· |
| We talked like grown folks sagely, | 8 | ··˘···/˘ |
| And sat there oft and long, | 6 | ······ |
| Complaining how all had altered, | 8 | ˘/˘···/˘ |
| Since the days when we were young. | 7 | ······· |
| How love and faith and friendship | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Had vanished, the world was bare; | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| How dear were tea and coffee, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And money had grown so rare! | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Those childish games are over, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| All things roll on with youth,-- | 6 | ······ |
| Money, the world, and the seasons, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| And faith and love and truth. | 6 | ······ |
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