We Return No More!
“When I stood beneath the fresh green tree,And saw around me the wide field reviveWith fruits and fertile promise; and the SpringCome forth, her work of gladness to contrive,With all her reckless birds upon the wing,I turn’d from all she brought to all she could not bring.”Childe Harold.
“We return!--we return!--we return no more!”So comes the song to the mountain shore,From those that are leaving their Highland homeFor a world far over the blue sea’s foam:“We return no more!” and through cave and dellMournfully wanders that wild farewell.
“We return!--we return!--we return no more!”So breathe sad voices our spirits o’er;Murmuring up from the depths of the heart,Where lovely things with their light depart:And the inborn sound hath a prophet’s tone,And we feel that a joy is for ever gone.
“We return!--we return!--we return no more!”Is it heard when the days of flowers are o’er?When the passionate soul of the night-bird’s layHath died from the summer woods away?When the glory from sunset’s robe hath pass’d,Or the leaves are borne on the rushing blast?
No! It is not the rose that returns no more;--A breath of spring shall its bloom restore;And it is not the voice that o’erflows the bowersWith a stream of love through the starry hours;Nor is it the crimson of sunset hues,Nor the frail flush’d leaves which the wild wind strews.
“We return!--we return!--we return no more!”Doth the bird sing thus from a brighter shore?Those wings that follow the southern breeze,Float they not homeward o’er vernal seas?Yes! from the lands of the vine and palmThey come, with the sunshine, when waves grow calm.
“But we!--we return!--we return no more!”The heart’s young dreams, when their spring is o’er;The love it hath pour’d so freely forth--The boundless trust in ideal worth;The faith in affection--deep, fond, yet vain--These are the lost that return not again!
Words in this poem
- childe n.
- A cognomen formerly prefixed to his name by the oldest son, until he succeeded to his ancestral titles, or was knighted; as, Childe Roland.
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- 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,]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
We Return No More! 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, We Return No More!, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/we-return-no-more.html, id L19566.
Form and metre
We Return No More! is 43 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 65% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 -ABABB- tree · reviveA · springB · contriveA · wingB · bringB · harold
- 2 AABBCC moreA · shoreA · homeB · foamB · dellC · farewellC
- 3 --AA-- more · o'er · heartA · departA · tone · gone
- 4 --AABB more · o'er · layA · awayA · pass'dB · blastB
- 5 AABBCC moreA · restoreA · bowersB · hoursB · huesC · strewsC
- 6 AABBCC moreA · shoreA · breezeB · seasB · palmC · calmC
- 7 ----AA more · o'er · forth · worth · vainA · againA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “When I stood beneath the fresh green tree, | 9 | ········· |
| And saw around me the wide field revive | 10 | ········˘/ |
| With fruits and fertile promise; and the Spring | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Come forth, her work of gladness to contrive, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| With all her reckless birds upon the wing, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I turn’d from all she brought to all she could not bring.” | 12 | ············ |
| Childe Harold. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| “We return!--we return!--we return no more!” | 11 | ·˘/·˘/·˘/·· |
| So comes the song to the mountain shore, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| From those that are leaving their Highland home | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| For a world far over the blue sea’s foam: | 10 | ·········· |
| “We return no more!” and through cave and dell | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| Mournfully wanders that wild farewell. | 9 | ···/˘···/ |
| “We return!--we return!--we return no more!” | 11 | ·˘/·˘/·˘/·· |
| So breathe sad voices our spirits o’er; | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Murmuring up from the depths of the heart, | 10 | /˘˘······· |
| Where lovely things with their light depart: | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| And the inborn sound hath a prophet’s tone, | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| And we feel that a joy is for ever gone. | 10 | ········/· |
| “We return!--we return!--we return no more!” | 11 | ·˘/·˘/·˘/·· |
| Is it heard when the days of flowers are o’er? | 10 | ·······/·· |
| When the passionate soul of the night-bird’s lay | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Hath died from the summer woods away? | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| When the glory from sunset’s robe hath pass’d, | 10 | ··/˘·/···· |
| Or the leaves are borne on the rushing blast? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| No! It is not the rose that returns no more;-- | 11 | ·······˘/·· |
| A breath of spring shall its bloom restore; | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| And it is not the voice that o’erflows the bowers | 11 | ··········/ |
| With a stream of love through the starry hours; | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Nor is it the crimson of sunset hues, | 10 | ····/˘·/·· |
| Nor the frail flush’d leaves which the wild wind strews. | 10 | ·········· |
| “We return!--we return!--we return no more!” | 11 | ·˘/·˘/·˘/·· |
| Doth the bird sing thus from a brighter shore? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Those wings that follow the southern breeze, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Float they not homeward o’er vernal seas? | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Yes! from the lands of the vine and palm | 9 | ········· |
| They come, with the sunshine, when waves grow calm. | 10 | ····/····· |
| “But we!--we return!--we return no more!” | 10 | ···˘/·˘/·· |
| The heart’s young dreams, when their spring is o’er; | 9 | ········· |
| The love it hath pour’d so freely forth-- | 9 | ······/˘· |
| The boundless trust in ideal worth; | 8 | ·/˘··˘/· |
| The faith in affection--deep, fond, yet vain-- | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| These are the lost that return not again! | 10 | ·····˘/·˘/ |
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