A Thought of the Future

Felicia Hemans (1793–1835) · 1808–1835

iambic trimeter · ABAB · 52 lines · from Poems

Dreamer! and wouldst thou knowIf love goes with us to the viewless bourne?Wouldst thou bear hence th’ unfathom’d source of woeIn thy heart’s lonely urn?

What hath it been to thee,That power, the dweller of thy secret breast?A dove sent forth across a stormy sea,Finding no place of rest:

A precious odour castOn a wild stream, that recklessly swept by;A voice of music utter’d to the blast,And winning no reply.

Even were such answer thine,Wouldst thou be bless’d? Too sleepless, too profound,Are the soul’s hidden springs; there is no lineTheir depth of love to sound.

Do not words faint and failWhen thou wouldst fill them with that ocean’s power?As thine own cheek, before high thoughts grows paleIn some o’erwhelming hour.

Doth not thy frail form sinkBeneath the chain that binds thee to one spot,When thy heart strives, held down by many a link,Where thy beloved are not?

Is not thy very soulOft in the gush of powerless blessing shed,Till a vain tenderness, beyond control,Bows down thy weary head?

And wouldst thou bear all this--The burden and the shadow of thy life--To trouble the blue skies of cloudless blissWith earthly feelings’ strife?

Not thus, not thus--oh, no!Not veil’d and mantled with dim clouds of care,That spirit of my soul should with me goTo breathe celestial air.

But as the skylark springsTo its own sphere, where night afar is driven,As to its place the flower-seed findeth wings,So must love mount to heaven!

Vainly it shall not striveThere on weak words to pour a stream of fire;Thought unto thought shall kindling impulse give,As light might wake a lyre.

And oh! its blessings there,Shower’d like rich balsam forth on some dear head,Powerless no more, a gift shall surely bear,A joy of sunlight shed.

Let me, then--let me dreamThat love goes with us to the shore unknown;So o’er its burning tears a heavenly gleamIn mercy shall be thrown!

Words in this poem

dreamer n.: One who dreams.
viewless a.: Not perceivable by the eye; invisible; unseen.
bourne n.: A stream or rivulet; a burn. [OE. burne, borne, AS. burna; akin to OS. brunno spring, G. born, brunnen, OHG. prunno, Goth. brunna, Icel. brunnr, and perh. to Gr. burn, v., because the source]
odour n.: Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive; scent; perfume. [OE. odor, odour, OF. odor, odour, F. odeur, fr. L. odor; akin to olere to smell, Gr. Olfactory, Osmium, Ozone, Redolent.]
sleepless a.: Having no sleep; wakeful.
cloudless a.: Without a cloud; clear; bright.
strife n.: The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
skylark n.: A lark that mounts and sings as it files, especially the common species (Alauda arvensis) found in Europe and in some parts of Asia, and celebrated for its melodious song; -- called also sky laverock.
afar adv.: At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
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,]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

A Thought of the Future is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Felicia Hemans, Project Gutenberg ebook #66785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Felicia Hemans, A Thought of the Future, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/a-thought-of-the-future.html, id L19562.

Form and metre

A Thought of the Future is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 10 of its 13 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).

See other poems in iambic trimeter.

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- know^A · bourne · woe^A · urn
2 ABAB thee^A · breast^B · sea^A · rest^B
3 ABAB cast^A · by^B · blast^A · reply^B
4 ABAB thine^A · profound^B · line^A · sound^B
5 ABAB fail^A · power^B · pale^A · hour^B
6 ABAB sink^A · spot^B · link^A · not^B
7 ABAB soul^A · shed^B · control^A · head^B
8 ABAB this^A · life^B · bliss^A · strife^B
9 ABAB no^A · care^B · go^A · air^B
10 A-A- springs^A · driven · wings^A · heaven
11 -A-A strive · fire^A · give · lyre^A
12 ABAB there^A · head^B · bear^A · shed^B
13 ABAB dream^A · unknown^B · gleam^A · thrown^B

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 trimeter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
Dreamer! and wouldst thou know	6	/˘····
If love goes with us to the viewless bourne?	10	·······/˘·
Wouldst thou bear hence th’ unfathom’d source of woe	10	··········
In thy heart’s lonely urn?	6	···/˘·
What hath it been to thee,	6	······
That power, the dweller of thy secret breast?	10	·/·/˘··/˘·
A dove sent forth across a stormy sea,	10	····˘/·/˘·
Finding no place of rest:	6	/˘····
A precious odour cast	6	·/˘/˘·
On a wild stream, that recklessly swept by;	10	·····/˘˘··
A voice of music utter’d to the blast,	10	···/˘/˘···
And winning no reply.	6	·/˘·˘/
Even were such answer thine,	7	/˘··/˘·
Wouldst thou be bless’d? Too sleepless, too profound,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Are the soul’s hidden springs; there is no line	10	···/˘·····
Their depth of love to sound.	6	······
Do not words faint and fail	6	······
When thou wouldst fill them with that ocean’s power?	11	·······/˘/˘
As thine own cheek, before high thoughts grows pale	10	··········
In some o’erwhelming hour.	7	·····/˘
Doth not thy frail form sink	6	······
Beneath the chain that binds thee to one spot,	10	··········
When thy heart strives, held down by many a link,	10	·······/··
Where thy beloved are not?	6	··˘/··
Is not thy very soul	6	···/˘·
Oft in the gush of powerless blessing shed,	10	·····/˘/˘·
Till a vain tenderness, beyond control,	10	···/˘˘··˘/
Bows down thy weary head?	6	···/˘·
And wouldst thou bear all this--	6	······
The burden and the shadow of thy life--	10	·/˘··/····
To trouble the blue skies of cloudless bliss	10	·/˘····/˘·
With earthly feelings’ strife?	6	·/˘/˘·
Not thus, not thus--oh, no!	6	······
Not veil’d and mantled with dim clouds of care,	10	···/˘·····
That spirit of my soul should with me go	10	·/˘·······
To breathe celestial air.	6	··˘/˘·
But as the skylark springs	6	···/··
To its own sphere, where night afar is driven,	11	······˘/·/˘
As to its place the flower-seed findeth wings,	10	·····/·/˘·
So must love mount to heaven!	7	·····/˘
Vainly it shall not strive	6	/˘····
There on weak words to pour a stream of fire;	11	·········/˘
Thought unto thought shall kindling impulse give,	10	·····/˘/˘·
As light might wake a lyre.	6	······
And oh! its blessings there,	6	···/˘·
Shower’d like rich balsam forth on some dear head,	10	/··/˘·····
Powerless no more, a gift shall surely bear,	10	/˘·····/˘·
A joy of sunlight shed.	6	···/··
Let me, then--let me dream	6	······
That love goes with us to the shore unknown;	10	········˘/
So o’er its burning tears a heavenly gleam	10	···/˘··/˘·
In mercy shall be thrown!	6	·/˘···

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