Song by Valgovind
The fields are full of Poppies, and the skies are very blue,By the Temple in the coppice, I wait, Beloved, for you.The level land is sunny, and the errant air is gay,With scent of rose and honey; will you come to me to-day?
From carven walls above me, smile lovers; many a pair."Oh, take this rose and love me!" she has twined it in her hair.He advances, she retreating, pursues and holds her fast,The sculptor left them meeting, in a close embrace at last.
Through centuries together, in the carven stone they lie,In the glow of golden weather, and endless azure sky.Oh, that we, who have for pleasure so short and scant a stay,Should waste our summer leisure; will you come to me to-day?
The Temple bells are ringing, for the marriage month has come.I hear the women singing, and the throbbing of the drum.And when the song is failing, or the drums a moment mute,The weirdly wistful wailing of the melancholy flute.
Little life has got to offer, and little man to lose,Since to-day Fate deigns to proffer, Oh wherefore, then, refuseTo take this transient hour, in the dusky Temple gloomWhile the poppies are in flower, and the mangoe trees abloom.
And if Fate remember later, and come to claim her due,What sorrow will be greater than the Joy I had with you?For to-day, lit by your laughter, between the crushing years,I will chance, in the hereafter, eternities of tears.
Words in this poem
- coppice n.
- A grove of small growth; a thicket of brushwood; a wood cut at certain times for fuel or other purposes. See Copse. [OF. copeiz, fr. coper, couper, to cut, F. couper, fr. cop, coup, colp, a blow, F. coup, L. colaphus, fr. G. Copse, and cf. Coup, Coupee.]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- errant n.
- One who wanders about. Fuller.
- carven a.
- Wrought by carving; ornamented by carvings; carved.
- sculptor n.
- One who sculptures; one whose occupation is to carve statues, or works of sculpture. [L. sculptor, fr. sculpere, sculptum, to carve; cf. scalpere to cut, carve, scratch, and Gr. sculpteur.]
- wistful a.
- Longing; wishful; desirous. [For wishful; perhaps influenced by wistly, which is probably corrupted from OE. wisly certainly (from Icel. viss certain, akin to E. wit). See Wish.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- abloom adv.
- In or into bloom; in a blooming state. Masson. [Pref. a- + bloom.]
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Song 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, Song by Valgovind, in India's Love Lyrics (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8197, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hope-india/song-by-valgovind.html, id L22569.
Form and metre
Song by Valgovind is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 AABB blueA · youA · gayB · dayB
- 2 AABB pairA · hairA · fastB · lastB
- 3 AABB lieA · skyA · stayB · dayB
- 4 AABB comeA · drumA · muteB · fluteB
- 5 AABB loseA · refuseA · gloomB · abloomB
- 6 AABB dueA · youA · yearsB · tearsB
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The fields are full of Poppies, and the skies are very blue, | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| By the Temple in the coppice, I wait, Beloved, for you. | 14 | ··/˘··/˘··˘/·· |
| The level land is sunny, and the errant air is gay, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| With scent of rose and honey; will you come to me to-day? | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| From carven walls above me, smile lovers; many a pair. | 14 | ·/˘·····/˘/˘·· |
| "Oh, take this rose and love me!" she has twined it in her hair. | 14 | ·············· |
| He advances, she retreating, pursues and holds her fast, | 14 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘˘/···· |
| The sculptor left them meeting, in a close embrace at last. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘···˘/·· |
| Through centuries together, in the carven stone they lie, | 14 | ·/˘˘˘/˘··/˘··· |
| In the glow of golden weather, and endless azure sky. | 14 | ····/˘/˘·/˘/˘· |
| Oh, that we, who have for pleasure so short and scant a stay, | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| Should waste our summer leisure; will you come to me to-day? | 14 | ··//˘/˘······· |
| The Temple bells are ringing, for the marriage month has come. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| I hear the women singing, and the throbbing of the drum. | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| And when the song is failing, or the drums a moment mute, | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| The weirdly wistful wailing of the melancholy flute. | 14 | ·/˘/˘/˘··/˘·˘· |
| Little life has got to offer, and little man to lose, | 14 | /˘····/˘·/˘··· |
| Since to-day Fate deigns to proffer, Oh wherefore, then, refuse | 14 | ······/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| To take this transient hour, in the dusky Temple gloom | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| While the poppies are in flower, and the mangoe trees abloom. | 14 | ··/˘··/·····˘/ |
| And if Fate remember later, and come to claim her due, | 14 | ···˘/˘/˘······ |
| What sorrow will be greater than the Joy I had with you? | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| For to-day, lit by your laughter, between the crushing years, | 14 | ······/˘···/˘· |
| I will chance, in the hereafter, eternities of tears. | 14 | ·····˘/˘˘/˘˘·· |
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