To the Hills!
'T is eight miles out and eight miles in,Just at the break of morn.'T is ice without and flame within,To gain a kiss at dawn!
Far, where the Lilac Hills ariseSoft from the misty plain,A lone enchanted hollow liesWhere I at last drew rein.
Midwinter grips this lonely land,This stony, treeless waste,Where East, due East, across the sand,We fly in fevered haste.
Pull up! the East will soon be red,The wild duck westward fly,And make above my anxious head,Triangles in the sky.
Like wind we go; we both are stillSo young; all thanks to Fate!(It cuts like knives, this air so chill,)Dear God! if I am late!
Behind us, wrapped in mist and sleepThe Ruined City lies,(Although we race, we seem to creep!)While lighter grow the skies.
Eight miles out only, eight miles in,Good going all the way;But more and more the clouds beginTo redden into day.
And every snow-tipped peak grows pinkAn iridescent gem!My heart beats quick, with joy, to thinkHow I am nearing them!
As mile on mile behind us falls,Till, Oh, delight! I seeMy Heart's Desire, who softly callsAcross the gloom to me.
The utter joy of that First LoveNo later love has given,When, while the skies grew light above,We entered into Heaven.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- midwinter n.
- The middle of winter. [AS. midwinter.]
- treeless
- Destitute of trees. C. Kingsley.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Hills! 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, To the Hills!, in India's Love Lyrics (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8197, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hope-india/to-the-hills.html, id L22622.
Form and metre
To the Hills! is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 8 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 A-AA inA · morn · withinA · dawnA
- 2 ABAB ariseA · plainB · liesA · reinB
- 3 ABAB landA · wasteB · sandA · hasteB
- 4 ABAB redA · flyB · headA · skyB
- 5 ABAB stillA · fateB · chillA · lateB
- 6 ABAB sleepA · liesB · creepA · skiesB
- 7 ABAB inA · wayB · beginA · dayB
- 8 ABAB pinkA · gemB · thinkA · themB
- 9 ABAB fallsA · seeB · callsA · meB
- 10 A-A- loveA · given · aboveA · heaven
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| 'T is eight miles out and eight miles in, | 9 | ········· |
| Just at the break of morn. | 6 | ······ |
| 'T is ice without and flame within, | 9 | ········· |
| To gain a kiss at dawn! | 6 | ······ |
| Far, where the Lilac Hills arise | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| Soft from the misty plain, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| A lone enchanted hollow lies | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Where I at last drew rein. | 6 | ······ |
| Midwinter grips this lonely land, | 8 | //˘··/˘· |
| This stony, treeless waste, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Where East, due East, across the sand, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| We fly in fevered haste. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Pull up! the East will soon be red, | 8 | ········ |
| The wild duck westward fly, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And make above my anxious head, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Triangles in the sky. | 6 | /·˘··· |
| Like wind we go; we both are still | 8 | ········ |
| So young; all thanks to Fate! | 6 | ······ |
| (It cuts like knives, this air so chill,) | 8 | ········ |
| Dear God! if I am late! | 6 | ······ |
| Behind us, wrapped in mist and sleep | 8 | ········ |
| The Ruined City lies, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| (Although we race, we seem to creep!) | 8 | ········ |
| While lighter grow the skies. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Eight miles out only, eight miles in, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Good going all the way; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But more and more the clouds begin | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To redden into day. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And every snow-tipped peak grows pink | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An iridescent gem! | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| My heart beats quick, with joy, to think | 8 | ········ |
| How I am nearing them! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| As mile on mile behind us falls, | 8 | ········ |
| Till, Oh, delight! I see | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| My Heart's Desire, who softly calls | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Across the gloom to me. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| The utter joy of that First Love | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| No later love has given, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| When, while the skies grew light above, | 8 | ········ |
| We entered into Heaven. | 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.