Inverquharity
Aside the Quharity burnI ken na what I’m seein’Wi’ the licht near deein’An’ the lang year at the turn;But the dog that gangs wi’ meCreeps whingein’ at my knee,And we baith haud thegitherLike a lad an’ his britherAt the water o’ Quharity.
Alang the Quharity glenI mind on warlock’s faces,I’ the still, dark placesWhaur the trees hae airms like men;And I ken the beast can seeYon een that’s watchin’ me,Whaur the arn-boughs darkenAn’ I’m owre fear’d to harkenI’ the glen o’ Quharity.
By Quharity Castle wa’sThe toor is like a prison,Or a deid man risenAmang the birken shaws;And the sweit upon my breeIs drappin’ cauld frae meTill the ill spell’s brokenBy the Haly Word spokenAt the wa’s o’ Quharity.
Alang the Valley o’ DeithThere’ll be mony a warlock wait’nWi’ the thrangin’ hosts o’ Sat’nTill I tak’ my hin’maist breith;An’ I’m fear’d there winna beThe dog to gang wi’ meAn’ I doot the way is wearierAn’ the movin’ shadows eerierThan the jaws o’ Quharity.
But I’ll whisper the Haly NameFor thae list’nin’ lugs to hear me,An’ the herds o’ Hell’ll fear meAn’ tak’ the road they came;For the wild dark wings’ll fleeFrae their bield in branch an’ tree--Nae mair the black airms thrawin’!Nae mair the ill sough blawin’!For my day o’ days is dawin’Owre the Castle o’ Quharity!
Words in this poem
- warlock n.
- A male witch; a wizard; a sprite; an imp. [OE. warloghe a deceiver, a name or the Devil, AS. w a belier or breaker of his agreement, word, or pledge; w covenant, troth (akiverus true; see Very) + loga a ]
- birken v. t.
- To whip with a birch or rod. [From 1st Birk.]
- bield n.
- A shelter. Same as Beild.
- sough n.
- A small drain; an adit. W. M. Buchanan. [Etymol. uncertain.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Inverquharity is in the public domain. This text is taken from Bonnie Joann, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #69484; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Violet Jacob, Inverquharity, in Bonnie Joann, and Other Poems (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #69484, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jacob-bonnie-joann/inverquharity.html, id L21951.
Form and metre
Inverquharity is 46 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%).
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABBACCDD- burnA · seeinB · deeinB · turnA · meC · kneeC · thegitherD · britherD · quharity
- 2 ABBACCDD- glenA · facesB · placesB · menA · seeC · meC · darkenD · harkenD · quharity
- 3 ABBACCDD- wa'sA · prisonB · risenB · shawsA · breeC · meC · brokenD · spokenD · quharity
- 4 A--ABBCC- deithA · wait'n · sat'n · breithA · beB · meB · wearierC · eerierC · quharity
- 5 ABBABBCCC- nameA · meB · meB · cameA · fleeB · treeB · thrawinC · blawinC · dawinC · quharity
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Aside the Quharity burn | 8 | ˘/······ |
| I ken na what I’m seein’ | 6 | ······ |
| Wi’ the licht near deein’ | 5 | ····· |
| An’ the lang year at the turn; | 7 | ······· |
| But the dog that gangs wi’ me | 7 | ······· |
| Creeps whingein’ at my knee, | 6 | ······ |
| And we baith haud thegither | 7 | ······· |
| Like a lad an’ his brither | 7 | ······· |
| At the water o’ Quharity. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Alang the Quharity glen | 8 | ········ |
| I mind on warlock’s faces, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I’ the still, dark places | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Whaur the trees hae airms like men; | 7 | ······· |
| And I ken the beast can see | 7 | ······· |
| Yon een that’s watchin’ me, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Whaur the arn-boughs darken | 6 | ····/˘ |
| An’ I’m owre fear’d to harken | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I’ the glen o’ Quharity. | 8 | ········ |
| By Quharity Castle wa’s | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The toor is like a prison, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Or a deid man risen | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Amang the birken shaws; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And the sweit upon my bree | 7 | ······· |
| Is drappin’ cauld frae me | 6 | ······ |
| Till the ill spell’s broken | 6 | ····/˘ |
| By the Haly Word spoken | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| At the wa’s o’ Quharity. | 8 | ········ |
| Alang the Valley o’ Deith | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| There’ll be mony a warlock wait’n | 9 | /˘·/˘·/˘· |
| Wi’ the thrangin’ hosts o’ Sat’n | 7 | ······· |
| Till I tak’ my hin’maist breith; | 7 | ······· |
| An’ I’m fear’d there winna be | 7 | ······· |
| The dog to gang wi’ me | 6 | ······ |
| An’ I doot the way is wearier | 8 | ········ |
| An’ the movin’ shadows eerier | 8 | ····/··· |
| Than the jaws o’ Quharity. | 8 | ········ |
| But I’ll whisper the Haly Name | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| For thae list’nin’ lugs to hear me, | 8 | ········ |
| An’ the herds o’ Hell’ll fear me | 7 | ······· |
| An’ tak’ the road they came; | 6 | ······ |
| For the wild dark wings’ll flee | 6 | ······ |
| Frae their bield in branch an’ tree-- | 7 | ······· |
| Nae mair the black airms thrawin’! | 7 | ······· |
| Nae mair the ill sough blawin’! | 7 | ······· |
| For my day o’ days is dawin’ | 8 | ········ |
| Owre the Castle o’ Quharity! | 9 | ··/˘····· |
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