Reminiscence of Mahomed Akram
I shall never forget you, never. Never escapeYour memory woven about the beautiful things of life.
The sudden Thought of your Face is like a WoundWhen it comes unsoughtOn some scent of Jasmin, Lilies, or pale Tuberose.Any one of the sweet white fragrant flowers,Flowers I used to love and lay in your hair.
Sunset is terribly sad. I saw you standTall against the red and the gold like a slender palm;The light wind stirred your hair as you waved your hand,Waved farewell, as ever, serene and calm,To me, the passion-wearied and tost and torn,Riding down the road in the gathering grey.Since that dayThe sunset red is empty, the gold forlorn.
Often across the Banqueting board at nightsMen linger about your name in careless praiseThe name that cuts deep into my soul like a knife;And the gay guest-faces and flowers and leaves and lightsFade away from the failing sense in a haze,And the music swaysFar away in unmeasured distance....I cannot forget--I cannot escape. What are the Stars to me?Stars that meant so much, too much, in my youth;Stars that sparkled about your eyes,Made a radiance round your hair,What are they now?
Lingering lights of a Finished Feast,Little lingering sparks rather,Of a Light that is long gone out.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- tuberose n.
- A plant (Polianthes tuberosa) with a tuberous root and a liliaceous flower. It is much cultivated for its beautiful and fragrant white blossoms. [Cf. G. tuberose, F. tubéreuse, NL. Polianthes tuberosa. See Tuberous.]
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Reminiscence of Mahomed Akram 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, Reminiscence of Mahomed Akram, in India's Love Lyrics (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8197, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hope-india/reminiscence-of-mahomed-akram.html, id L22580.
Form and metre
Reminiscence of Mahomed Akram is 31 lines in 5 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.
- 3 ABABCDDC standA · palmB · handA · calmB · tornC · greyD · dayD · forlornC
- 4 AB-ABB------- nightsA · praiseB · knife · lightsA · hazeB · swaysB · distance · forget · me · youth · eyes · hair · now
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I shall never forget you, never. Never escape | 10 | ··/˘/·//˘/ |
| Your memory woven about the beautiful things of life. | 13 | ·/˘/˘···/˘··· |
| The sudden Thought of your Face is like a Wound | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| When it comes unsought | 5 | ····· |
| On some scent of Jasmin, Lilies, or pale Tuberose. | 12 | ····/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Any one of the sweet white fragrant flowers, | 10 | /˘·····/˘/ |
| Flowers I used to love and lay in your hair. | 10 | /········· |
| Sunset is terribly sad. I saw you stand | 10 | /··/˘····· |
| Tall against the red and the gold like a slender palm; | 13 | ··········/˘· |
| The light wind stirred your hair as you waved your hand, | 11 | ··········· |
| Waved farewell, as ever, serene and calm, | 9 | ··/·/˘/·· |
| To me, the passion-wearied and tost and torn, | 11 | ···/˘/˘···· |
| Riding down the road in the gathering grey. | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Since that day | 3 | ··· |
| The sunset red is empty, the gold forlorn. | 11 | ·/···/˘··˘/ |
| Often across the Banqueting board at nights | 10 | /˘˘/·/˘··· |
| Men linger about your name in careless praise | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| The name that cuts deep into my soul like a knife; | 12 | ············ |
| And the gay guest-faces and flowers and leaves and lights | 12 | ····/˘·/···· |
| Fade away from the failing sense in a haze, | 11 | ·˘/··/˘···· |
| And the music sways | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Far away in unmeasured distance.... | 9 | ·˘/····/˘ |
| I cannot forget-- | 5 | ·˘/˘/ |
| I cannot escape. What are the Stars to me? | 11 | ·˘/˘/······ |
| Stars that meant so much, too much, in my youth; | 10 | ·········· |
| Stars that sparkled about your eyes, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Made a radiance round your hair, | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| What are they now? | 4 | ···· |
| Lingering lights of a Finished Feast, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Little lingering sparks rather, | 8 | /˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Of a Light that is long gone out. | 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.