The Sea-Bird Flying Inland
“Thy path is not as mine;--where thou art blestMy spirit would but wither; mine own griefIs in mine eyes a richer, holier thing,Than all thy happiness.”
Hath the summer’s breath on the south-wind borne,Met the dark seas in their sweeping scorn?Hath it lured thee, bird! from their sounding cavesTo the river shores where the osier waves?
Or art thou come on the hills to dwell,Where the sweet-voiced echoes have many a cell?Where the moss bears print of the wild-deer’s tread,And the heath like a royal robe is spread?
Thou hast done well, O thou bright sea-bird!There is joy where the song of the lark is heard,With the dancing of waters through copse and dell,And the bee’s low tune in the fox-glove’s bell.
Thou hast done well: oh! the seas are lone,And the voice they send up hath a mournful tone;A mingling of dirges and wild farewells,Fitfully breathed through its anthem swells.
The proud bird rose as the words were said--The rush of his pinion swept o’er my head,And the glance of his eye, in its bright disdain,Spoke him a child of the haughty main.
He hath flown from the woods to the ocean’s breast,To his throne of pride on the billow’s crest.Oh! who shall say to a spirit free--“There lies the pathway of bliss for thee?”
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- copse n.
- A wood of small growth; a thicket of brushwood. See Coppice. [Contr. from coppice.]
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- anthem v. t.
- To celebrate with anthems.
- pinion n.
- A moth of the genus Lithophane, as L. antennata, whose larva bores large holes in young peaches and apples.
- 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.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- billow n.
- A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
- 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,]
- 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 Sea-Bird Flying Inland 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, The Sea-Bird Flying Inland, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-sea-bird-flying-inland.html, id L19527.
Form and metre
The Sea-Bird Flying Inland is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%).
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.
- 2 AABB borneA · scornA · cavesB · wavesB
- 3 AABB dwellA · cellA · treadB · spreadB
- 4 AABB birdA · heardA · dellB · bellB
- 5 AABB loneA · toneA · farewellsB · swellsB
- 6 AABB saidA · headA · disdainB · mainB
- 7 AABB breastA · crestA · freeB · theeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “Thy path is not as mine;--where thou art blest | 10 | ·········· |
| My spirit would but wither; mine own grief | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Is in mine eyes a richer, holier thing, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Than all thy happiness.” | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Hath the summer’s breath on the south-wind borne, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Met the dark seas in their sweeping scorn? | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Hath it lured thee, bird! from their sounding caves | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To the river shores where the osier waves? | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Or art thou come on the hills to dwell, | 9 | ········· |
| Where the sweet-voiced echoes have many a cell? | 10 | ····/˘·/·· |
| Where the moss bears print of the wild-deer’s tread, | 10 | ·········· |
| And the heath like a royal robe is spread? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thou hast done well, O thou bright sea-bird! | 9 | ········· |
| There is joy where the song of the lark is heard, | 11 | ··········· |
| With the dancing of waters through copse and dell, | 11 | ··/˘·/˘···· |
| And the bee’s low tune in the fox-glove’s bell. | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou hast done well: oh! the seas are lone, | 9 | ········· |
| And the voice they send up hath a mournful tone; | 11 | ········/˘· |
| A mingling of dirges and wild farewells, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···/ |
| Fitfully breathed through its anthem swells. | 10 | /˘˘·˘··/˘· |
| The proud bird rose as the words were said-- | 9 | ········· |
| The rush of his pinion swept o’er my head, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| And the glance of his eye, in its bright disdain, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Spoke him a child of the haughty main. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| He hath flown from the woods to the ocean’s breast, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| To his throne of pride on the billow’s crest. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Oh! who shall say to a spirit free-- | 9 | ······/˘· |
| “There lies the pathway of bliss for thee?” | 9 | ···/····· |
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