The Last Leaf
I SAW him once before,As he passed by the door,And againThe pavement stones resound,As he totters o'er the groundWith his cane.
They say that in his prime,Ere the pruning-knife of TimeCut him down,Not a better man was foundBy the Crier on his roundThrough the town.
But now he walks the streets,And he looks at all he meetsSad and wan,And he shakes his feeble head,That it seems as if he said,"They are gone."
The mossy marbles restOn the lips that he has prestIn their bloom,And the names he loved to hearHave been carved for many a yearOn the tomb.
My grandmamma has said--Poor old lady, she is deadLong ago--That he had a Roman nose,And his cheek was like a roseIn the snow.
But now his nose is thin,And it rests upon his chinLike a staff,And a crook is in his back,And a melancholy crackIn his laugh.
I know it is a sinFor me to sit and grinAt him here;But the old three-cornered hat,And the breeches, and all that,Are so queer!
And if I should live to beThe last leaf upon the treeIn the spring,Let them smile, as I do now,At the old forsaken boughWhere I cling.
Words in this poem
- prest a.
- Ready; prompt; prepared. [OF. prest, F. prêt, fr. L. praestus ready. Cf. Presto.]
- grandmamma n.
- A grand mother.
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Last Leaf is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes — Volume 01: Earlier Poems (1830-1836), Project Gutenberg ebook #7388; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Last Leaf, in Poetical Works, Volume I (1830–1848), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7388, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/holmes-poems/the-last-leaf.html, id L00458.
Form and metre
The Last Leaf is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.5 syllables. 40% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABCCB beforeA · doorA · againB · resoundC · groundC · caneB
- 2 AABCCB primeA · timeA · downB · foundC · roundC · townB
- 3 AA-BB- streetsA · meetsA · wan · headB · saidB · gone
- 4 AABCCB restA · prestA · bloomB · hearC · yearC · tombB
- 5 AABCCB saidA · deadA · agoB · noseC · roseC · snowB
- 6 AABCCB thinA · chinA · staffB · backC · crackC · laughB
- 7 AABCCB sinA · grinA · hereB · hatC · thatC · queerB
- 8 AABCCB beA · treeA · springB · nowC · boughC · clingB
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I SAW him once before, | 6 | ······ |
| As he passed by the door, | 6 | ······ |
| And again | 3 | ·˘/ |
| The pavement stones resound, | 6 | ·/˘··/ |
| As he totters o'er the ground | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| With his cane. | 3 | ··· |
| They say that in his prime, | 6 | ······ |
| Ere the pruning-knife of Time | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Cut him down, | 3 | ··· |
| Not a better man was found | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| By the Crier on his round | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Through the town. | 3 | ··· |
| But now he walks the streets, | 6 | ······ |
| And he looks at all he meets | 7 | ······· |
| Sad and wan, | 3 | ··· |
| And he shakes his feeble head, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| That it seems as if he said, | 7 | ······· |
| "They are gone." | 3 | ··· |
| The mossy marbles rest | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| On the lips that he has prest | 7 | ······· |
| In their bloom, | 3 | ··· |
| And the names he loved to hear | 7 | ······· |
| Have been carved for many a year | 9 | ···˘·/˘·· |
| On the tomb. | 3 | ··· |
| My grandmamma has said-- | 6 | ······ |
| Poor old lady, she is dead | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Long ago-- | 3 | ·˘/ |
| That he had a Roman nose, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And his cheek was like a rose | 7 | ······· |
| In the snow. | 3 | ··· |
| But now his nose is thin, | 6 | ······ |
| And it rests upon his chin | 7 | ······· |
| Like a staff, | 3 | ··· |
| And a crook is in his back, | 7 | ······· |
| And a melancholy crack | 7 | ··/˘·˘· |
| In his laugh. | 3 | ··· |
| I know it is a sin | 6 | ······ |
| For me to sit and grin | 6 | ······ |
| At him here; | 3 | ··· |
| But the old three-cornered hat, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And the breeches, and all that, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Are so queer! | 3 | ··· |
| And if I should live to be | 7 | ······· |
| The last leaf upon the tree | 7 | ······· |
| In the spring, | 3 | ··· |
| Let them smile, as I do now, | 7 | ······· |
| At the old forsaken bough | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Where I cling. | 3 | ··· |
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.