His Rubies: Told by Valgovind
Along the hot and endless road,Calm and erect, with haggard eyes,The prisoner bore his fetters' loadBeneath the scorching, azure skies.
Serene and tall, with brows unbent,Without a hope, without a friend,He, under escort, onward went,With death to meet him at the end.
The Poppy fields were pink and gayOn either side, and in the heatTheir drowsy scent exhaled all dayA dream-like fragrance almost sweet.
And when the cool of evening fellAnd tender colours touched the sky,He still felt youth within him dwellAnd half forgot he had to die.
Sometimes at night, the Camp-fires litAnd casting fitful light around,His guard would, friend-like, let him sitAnd talk awhile with them, unbound.
Thus they, the night before the last,Were resting, when a group of girlsAcross the small encampment passed,With laughing lips and scented curls.
Then in the Prisoner's weary eyesA sudden light lit up once more,The women saw him with surprise,And pity for the chains he bore.
For little women reck of CrimeIf young and fair the criminal beHere in this tropic, amorous climeWhere love is still untamed and free.
And one there was, she walked less fast,Behind the rest, perhaps beguiledBy his lithe form, who, as she passed,Waited a little while, and smiled.
The guard, in kindly Eastern fashion,Smiled to themselves, and let her stay.So tolerant of human passion,"To love he has but one more day."
Yet when (the soft and scented gloomScarce lighted by the dying fire)His arms caressed her youth and bloom,With him it was not all desire.
"For me," he whispered, as he lay,"But little life remains to live.One thing I crave to take away:You have the gift; but will you give?
"If I could know some child of mineWould live his life, and see the sunAcross these fields of poppies shine,What should I care that mine is done?
"To die would not be dying quite,Leaving a little life behind,You, were you kind to me to-night,Could grant me this; but--are you kind?
"See, I have something here for youFor you and It, if It there be."Soft in the gloom her glances grew,With gentle tears he could not see.
He took the chain from off his neck,Hid in the silver chain there layThree rubies, without flaw or fleck.She answered softly "I will stay."
He drew her close; the moonless skiesShed little light; the fire was dead.Soft pity filled her youthful eyes,And many tender things she said.
Throughout the hot and silent nightAll that he asked of her she gave.And, left alone ere morning light,He went serenely to the grave,
Happy; for even when the ropeConfined his neck, his thoughts were free,And centered round his Secret HopeThe little life that was to be.
When Poppies bloomed again, she boreHis child who gaily laughed and crowed,While round his tiny neck he woreThe rubies given on the road.
For his small sake she wished to wait,But vainly to forget she tried,And grieving for the Prisoner's fate,She broke her gentle heart and died.
Words in this poem 18
- haggard a.
- Wild or intractable; disposed to break away from duty; untamed; as, a haggard or refractory hawk. Shak [F. hagard; of German origin, and prop. meaning, of the hegde or woods, wild, untamed. See Hedge, 1st Haw, and -ard.]
- scorching a.
- Burning; parching or shriveling with heat.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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]
- fitful a.
- Full of fits; irregularly variable; impulsive and unstable. [From 7th Fit.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- encampment n.
- The act of pitching tents or forming huts, as by an army or traveling company, for temporary lodging or rest.
- reck v. t.
- To make account of; to care for; to heed; to regard. [AS. reccan, remccan, to care for; akin to OS. rokian, OHG. ruochan, G. geruhen, Icel. rækja, also to E. reckon, rake an implement. See Rake, and cf. Reckon.]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- lithe v. i.
- To listen or listen to; to hearken to. P. Plowman. [Icel Listen.]
- tolerant a.
- Inclined to tolerate; favoring toleration; forbearing; ingulgent. [L. tolerans, p.pr. of tolerare to tolerate: cf. F. tolérant. See Tolerate.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- fleck n.
- A flake; also, a lock, as of wool. J. Martin.
- moonless a.
- Being without a moon or moonlight.
- serenely adv.
- In a serene manner; clearly.
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
His Rubies: Told by Valgovind is in the public domain. This text is taken from India's Love Lyrics, Project Gutenberg ebook #8197; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Laurence Hope, His Rubies: Told by Valgovind, in India's Love Lyrics (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8197, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hope-india/his-rubies-told-by-valgovind.html, id L22624.
Form and metre
His Rubies: Told by Valgovind is 84 lines in 21 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABAB roadA · eyesB · loadA · skiesB
- 2 ABAB unbentA · friendB · wentA · endB
- 3 ABAB gayA · heatB · dayA · sweetB
- 4 ABAB fellA · skyB · dwellA · dieB
- 5 ABAB litA · aroundB · sitA · unboundB
- 6 ABAB lastA · girlsB · passedA · curlsB
- 7 ABAB eyesA · moreB · surpriseA · boreB
- 8 ABAB crimeA · beB · climeA · freeB
- 9 ABAB fastA · beguiledB · passedA · smiledB
- 10 ABAB fashionA · stayB · passionA · dayB
- 11 ABAB gloomA · fireB · bloomA · desireB
- 12 ABAB layA · liveB · awayA · giveB
- 13 ABAB mineA · sunB · shineA · doneB
- 14 ABAB quiteA · behindB · nightA · kindB
- 15 ABAB youA · beB · grewA · seeB
- 16 ABAB neckA · layB · fleckA · stayB
- 17 ABAB skiesA · deadB · eyesA · saidB
- 18 ABAB nightA · gaveB · lightA · graveB
- 19 ABAB ropeA · freeB · hopeA · beB
- 20 ABAB boreA · crowedB · woreA · roadB
- 21 ABAB waitA · triedB · fateA · diedB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Along the hot and endless road, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Calm and erect, with haggard eyes, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| The prisoner bore his fetters' load | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Beneath the scorching, azure skies. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Serene and tall, with brows unbent, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Without a hope, without a friend, | 8 | ········ |
| He, under escort, onward went, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| With death to meet him at the end. | 8 | ········ |
| The Poppy fields were pink and gay | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| On either side, and in the heat | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Their drowsy scent exhaled all day | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| A dream-like fragrance almost sweet. | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| And when the cool of evening fell | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And tender colours touched the sky, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| He still felt youth within him dwell | 8 | ········ |
| And half forgot he had to die. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Sometimes at night, the Camp-fires lit | 8 | /·····/· |
| And casting fitful light around, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| His guard would, friend-like, let him sit | 8 | ········ |
| And talk awhile with them, unbound. | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Thus they, the night before the last, | 8 | ········ |
| Were resting, when a group of girls | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Across the small encampment passed, | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| With laughing lips and scented curls. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Then in the Prisoner's weary eyes | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A sudden light lit up once more, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The women saw him with surprise, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And pity for the chains he bore. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For little women reck of Crime | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| If young and fair the criminal be | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Here in this tropic, amorous clime | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Where love is still untamed and free. | 8 | ········ |
| And one there was, she walked less fast, | 8 | ········ |
| Behind the rest, perhaps beguiled | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| By his lithe form, who, as she passed, | 8 | ········ |
| Waited a little while, and smiled. | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| The guard, in kindly Eastern fashion, | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| Smiled to themselves, and let her stay. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| So tolerant of human passion, | 9 | ·/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| "To love he has but one more day." | 8 | ········ |
| Yet when (the soft and scented gloom | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Scarce lighted by the dying fire) | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| His arms caressed her youth and bloom, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| With him it was not all desire. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| "For me," he whispered, as he lay, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "But little life remains to live. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| One thing I crave to take away: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| You have the gift; but will you give? | 8 | ········ |
| "If I could know some child of mine | 8 | ········ |
| Would live his life, and see the sun | 8 | ········ |
| Across these fields of poppies shine, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| What should I care that mine is done? | 8 | ········ |
| "To die would not be dying quite, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Leaving a little life behind, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| You, were you kind to me to-night, | 8 | ········ |
| Could grant me this; but--are you kind? | 8 | ········ |
| "See, I have something here for you | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For you and It, if It there be." | 8 | ········ |
| Soft in the gloom her glances grew, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With gentle tears he could not see. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He took the chain from off his neck, | 8 | ········ |
| Hid in the silver chain there lay | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Three rubies, without flaw or fleck. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| She answered softly "I will stay." | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| He drew her close; the moonless skies | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shed little light; the fire was dead. | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Soft pity filled her youthful eyes, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And many tender things she said. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Throughout the hot and silent night | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| All that he asked of her she gave. | 8 | ········ |
| And, left alone ere morning light, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| He went serenely to the grave, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Happy; for even when the rope | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Confined his neck, his thoughts were free, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| And centered round his Secret Hope | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The little life that was to be. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When Poppies bloomed again, she bore | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| His child who gaily laughed and crowed, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| While round his tiny neck he wore | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The rubies given on the road. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| For his small sake she wished to wait, | 8 | ········ |
| But vainly to forget she tried, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| And grieving for the Prisoner's fate, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| She broke her gentle heart and died. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
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.