Palm Trees by the Sea
Love, let me thank you for this!Now we have drifted apart,Wandered away from the sea,--For the fresh touch of your kiss,For the young warmth of your heart,For your youth given to me.
Thanks: for the curls of your hair,Softer than silk to the hand,For the clear gaze of your eyes.For yourself: delicate, fair,Seen as you lay on the sand,Under the violet skies.
Thanks: for the words that you said,--Secretly, tenderly sweet,All through the tropical day,Till, when the sunset was red,I, who lay still at your feet,Felt my life ebbing away,
Weary and worn with desire,Only yourself could console.Love let me thank you for this!For that fierce fervour and fireBurnt through my lips to my soulFrom the white heat of your kiss!
You were the essence of Spring,Wayward and bright as a flame:Though we have drifted apart,Still how the syllables singMixed in your musical name,Deep in the well of my heart!
Once in the lingering light,Thrown from the west on the Sea,Laid you your garments aside,Slender and goldenly bright,Glimmered your beauty, set free,Bright as a pearl in the tide.
Once, ere the thrill of the dawnSilvered the edge of the sea,I, who lay watching you rest,--Pale in the chill of the mornFound you still dreaming of meStilled by love's fancies possessed.
Fallen on sorrowful days,Love, let me thank you for this,You were so happy with me!Wrapped in Youth's roseate haze,Wanting no more than my kissBy the blue edge of the sea!
Ah, for those nights on the sandUnder the palms by the sea,For the strange dream of those daysSpent in the passionate land,For your youth given to me,I am your debtor always!
Words in this poem
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- tenderly adv.
- In a tender manner; with tenderness; mildly; gently; softly; in a manner not to injure or give pain; with pity or affection; kindly.
- fervour n.
- Heat; excessive warmth. [OF. fervor, fervour, F. ferveur, L. fervor, fr. fervere. See Fervent.]
- wayward a.
- Taking one's own way; disobedient; froward; perverse; willful. [OE. weiward, for aweiward, i. e., turned away. See Away, and -ward.]
- goldenly adv.
- In golden terms or a golden manner; splendidly; delightfully.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- roseate a.
- Full of roses; rosy; as, roseate bowers. [Cf. L. roseus, rosatus, prepared from roses. See Roseal, Rose.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Palm Trees by the Sea 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, Palm Trees by the Sea, in India's Love Lyrics (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8197, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hope-india/palm-trees-by-the-sea.html, id L22608.
Form and metre
Palm Trees by the Sea is 54 lines in 9 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABCABC, complete in 8 of its 9 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
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.
- 1 ABCABC thisA · apartB · seaC · kissA · heartB · meC
- 2 ABCABC hairA · handB · eyesC · fairA · sandB · skiesC
- 3 ABCABC saidA · sweetB · dayC · redA · feetB · awayC
- 4 ABCABC desireA · consoleB · thisC · fireA · soulB · kissC
- 5 ABCABC springA · flameB · apartC · singA · nameB · heartC
- 6 ABCABC lightA · seaB · asideC · brightA · freeB · tideC
- 7 -AB-AB dawn · seaA · restB · morn · meA · possessedB
- 8 ABCABC daysA · thisB · meC · hazeA · kissB · seaC
- 9 ABCABC sandA · seaB · daysC · landA · meB · alwaysC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Love, let me thank you for this! | 7 | ······· |
| Now we have drifted apart, | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| Wandered away from the sea,-- | 8 | /˘˘˘/··· |
| For the fresh touch of your kiss, | 7 | ······· |
| For the young warmth of your heart, | 7 | ······· |
| For your youth given to me. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Thanks: for the curls of your hair, | 7 | ······· |
| Softer than silk to the hand, | 7 | /˘····· |
| For the clear gaze of your eyes. | 7 | ······· |
| For yourself: delicate, fair, | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| Seen as you lay on the sand, | 7 | ······· |
| Under the violet skies. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Thanks: for the words that you said,-- | 7 | ······· |
| Secretly, tenderly sweet, | 7 | /˘˘/˘˘· |
| All through the tropical day, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Till, when the sunset was red, | 7 | ···/··· |
| I, who lay still at your feet, | 7 | ······· |
| Felt my life ebbing away, | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| Weary and worn with desire, | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| Only yourself could console. | 7 | /˘˘/·/˘ |
| Love let me thank you for this! | 7 | ······· |
| For that fierce fervour and fire | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Burnt through my lips to my soul | 7 | ······· |
| From the white heat of your kiss! | 7 | ······· |
| You were the essence of Spring, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Wayward and bright as a flame: | 7 | /˘····· |
| Though we have drifted apart, | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| Still how the syllables sing | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Mixed in your musical name, | 8 | ·˘··/˘˘· |
| Deep in the well of my heart! | 7 | ······· |
| Once in the lingering light, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Thrown from the west on the Sea, | 7 | ······· |
| Laid you your garments aside, | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| Slender and goldenly bright, | 7 | /˘·/˘˘· |
| Glimmered your beauty, set free, | 8 | /˘˘·/˘·· |
| Bright as a pearl in the tide. | 7 | ······· |
| Once, ere the thrill of the dawn | 7 | ······· |
| Silvered the edge of the sea, | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| I, who lay watching you rest,-- | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Pale in the chill of the morn | 7 | ······· |
| Found you still dreaming of me | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Stilled by love's fancies possessed. | 8 | ·˘··/˘˘/ |
| Fallen on sorrowful days, | 7 | /˘·/˘˘· |
| Love, let me thank you for this, | 7 | ······· |
| You were so happy with me! | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Wrapped in Youth's roseate haze, | 8 | ·˘··/˘˘· |
| Wanting no more than my kiss | 7 | /˘····· |
| By the blue edge of the sea! | 7 | ······· |
| Ah, for those nights on the sand | 7 | ······· |
| Under the palms by the sea, | 7 | ······· |
| For the strange dream of those days | 7 | ······· |
| Spent in the passionate land, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| For your youth given to me, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| I am your debtor always! | 7 | ···/˘/· |
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.