'Lukannon'
I met my mates in the morning (and oh, but I am old!)Where roaring on the ledges the summer ground-swell rolled.I heard them lift the chorus that drowned the breakers' song--The Beaches of Lukannon--two million voices strong!
The song of pleasant stations beside the salt lagoons,The song of blowing squadrons that shuffled down the dunes,The song of midnight dances that churned the sea to flame--The Beaches of Lukannon--before the sealers came!
I met my mates in the morning (I'll never meet them more!);They came and went in legions that darkened all the shore.And through the foam-flecked offing as far as voice could reachWe hailed the landing-parties and we sang them up the beach.
The Beaches of Lukannon--the winter-wheat so tall--The dripping, crinkled lichens, and the sea-fog drenching all!The platforms of our playground, all shining smooth and worn!The Beaches of Lukannon--the home where we were born!
I meet my mates in the morning, a broken, scattered band.Men shoot us in the water and club us on the land;Men drive us to the Salt House like silly sheep and tame,And still we sing Lukannon--before the sealers came.
Wheel down, wheel down to southward! Oh, Gooverooska go!And tell the Deep-Sea Viceroys the story of our woe;Ere, empty as the shark's egg the tempest flings ashore,The Beaches of Lukannon shall know their sons no more!
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- dripping n.
- A falling in drops, or the sound so made.
- crinkled a.
- Having short bends, turns, or wrinkles; wrinkled; wavy; zigzag.
- playground n.
- A piece of ground used for recreation; as, the playground of a school.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
'Lukannon' is in the public domain. This text is taken from Songs from Books, Project Gutenberg ebook #15529; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rudyard Kipling, 'Lukannon', in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/lukannon.html, id L20371.
Form and metre
'Lukannon' is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is alexandrines, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%).
See other poems in alexandrines.
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 oldA · rolledA · songB · strongB
- 2 AABB lagoonsA · dunesA · flameB · cameB
- 3 AABB moreA · shoreA · reachB · beachB
- 4 AABB tallA · allA · wornB · bornB
- 5 AABB bandA · landA · tameB · cameB
- 6 AABB goA · woeA · ashoreB · moreB
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 alexandrines. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I met my mates in the morning (and oh, but I am old!) | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| Where roaring on the ledges the summer ground-swell rolled. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘··· |
| I heard them lift the chorus that drowned the breakers' song-- | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| The Beaches of Lukannon--two million voices strong! | 13 | ·/˘·····/˘/˘· |
| The song of pleasant stations beside the salt lagoons, | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/··˘/ |
| The song of blowing squadrons that shuffled down the dunes, | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| The song of midnight dances that churned the sea to flame-- | 13 | ···/·/˘······ |
| The Beaches of Lukannon--before the sealers came! | 13 | ·/˘·······/˘· |
| I met my mates in the morning (I'll never meet them more!); | 13 | ······/˘·/··· |
| They came and went in legions that darkened all the shore. | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| And through the foam-flecked offing as far as voice could reach | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| We hailed the landing-parties and we sang them up the beach. | 14 | ···/˘/˘······· |
| The Beaches of Lukannon--the winter-wheat so tall-- | 13 | ·/˘·····/˘··· |
| The dripping, crinkled lichens, and the sea-fog drenching all! | 14 | ·/˘/˘/˘····/˘· |
| The platforms of our playground, all shining smooth and worn! | 13 | ·/··//··/˘··· |
| The Beaches of Lukannon--the home where we were born! | 13 | ·/˘·········· |
| I meet my mates in the morning, a broken, scattered band. | 14 | ······/˘·/˘/˘· |
| Men shoot us in the water and club us on the land; | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Men drive us to the Salt House like silly sheep and tame, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| And still we sing Lukannon--before the sealers came. | 13 | ··········/˘· |
| Wheel down, wheel down to southward! Oh, Gooverooska go! | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| And tell the Deep-Sea Viceroys the story of our woe; | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘·/· |
| Ere, empty as the shark's egg the tempest flings ashore, | 13 | ·/˘·····/˘·˘/ |
| The Beaches of Lukannon shall know their sons no more! | 13 | ·/˘·········· |
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