The Only Son
She dropped the bar, she shot the bolt, she fed the fire anew,For she heard a whimper under the sill and a great grey paw came through.The fresh flame comforted the hut and shone on the roof-beam,And the Only Son lay down again and dreamed that he dreamed a dream.The last ash fell from the withered log with the click of a falling spark,And the Only Son woke up again, and called across the dark:--'Now was I born of womankind and laid in a mother's breast?For I have dreamed of a shaggy hide whereon I went to rest?And was I born of womankind and laid on a father's arm?For I have dreamed of clashing teeth that guarded me from harm.And was I born an Only Son and did I play alone?For I have dreamed of comrades twain that bit me to the bone.And did I break the barley-cake and steep it in the tyre?For I have dreamed of a youngling kid new-riven from the byre.For I have dreamed of a midnight sky and a midnight call to blood,And red-mouthed shadows racing by, that thrust me from my food.'Tis an hour yet and an hour yet to the rising of the moon,But I can see the black roof-tree as plain as it were noon.'Tis a league and a league to the Lena Falls where the trooping blackbuck go;But I can hear the little fawn that bleats behind the doe.'Tis a league and a league to the Lena Falls where the crop and the upland meet,But I can smell the wet dawn-wind that wakes the sprouting wheat.Unbar the door, I may not bide, but I must out and seeIf those are wolves that wait outside or my own kin to me!'
She loosed the bar, she slid the bolt, she opened the door anon,And a grey bitch-wolf came out of the dark and fawned on the Only Son!
Words in this poem
- whimper v. i.
- To cry with a low, whining, broken voice; to whine; to complain; as, a child whimpers. [Cf. Scot. whimmer, G. wimmern.]
- womankind n.
- The females of the human race; women, collectively.
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- tyre n.
- Attire. See 2d and 3d Tire.
- youngling n.
- A young person; a youth; also, any animal in its early life. [AS. geongling.]
- byre n.
- A cow house. [N. of Eng.& Scot.] [Cf, Icel. bür pantry, Sw. bur cage,Dan. buur, E.bower.]
- lena n.
- A procuress. J. Webster. [L.]
- unbar v. t.
- To remove a bar or bars from; to unbolt; to open; as, to unbar a gate. Heber. [1st pref. un- + bar.]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Only Son 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, The Only Son, in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/the-only-son.html, id L20403.
Form and metre
The Only Son is 26 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 77% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 75%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFF----GGHHIIJJ anewA · throughA · beamB · dreamB · sparkC · darkC · breastD · restD · armE · harmE · aloneF · boneF · tyre · byre · blood · food · moonG · noonG · goH · doeH · meetI · wheatI · seeJ · meJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| She dropped the bar, she shot the bolt, she fed the fire anew, | 14 | ···········/˘/ |
| For she heard a whimper under the sill and a great grey paw came through. | 17 | ····/˘··········· |
| The fresh flame comforted the hut and shone on the roof-beam, | 14 | ···/˘˘········ |
| And the Only Son lay down again and dreamed that he dreamed a dream. | 16 | ··/˘···˘/······· |
| The last ash fell from the withered log with the click of a falling spark, | 17 | ······/˘······/˘· |
| And the Only Son woke up again, and called across the dark:-- | 15 | ··/˘···˘/··˘/·· |
| 'Now was I born of womankind and laid in a mother's breast? | 15 | ·····/˘˘····/˘· |
| For I have dreamed of a shaggy hide whereon I went to rest? | 15 | ······/˘·˘/···· |
| And was I born of womankind and laid on a father's arm? | 15 | ·····/˘˘····/˘· |
| For I have dreamed of clashing teeth that guarded me from harm. | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘··· |
| And was I born an Only Son and did I play alone? | 14 | ·····/˘·····˘/ |
| For I have dreamed of comrades twain that bit me to the bone. | 14 | ·····/········ |
| And did I break the barley-cake and steep it in the tyre? | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| For I have dreamed of a youngling kid new-riven from the byre. | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··/ |
| For I have dreamed of a midnight sky and a midnight call to blood, | 16 | ······/····/···· |
| And red-mouthed shadows racing by, that thrust me from my food. | 14 | ···/·/˘······· |
| 'Tis an hour yet and an hour yet to the rising of the moon, | 15 | ··/···/···/˘··· |
| But I can see the black roof-tree as plain as it were noon. | 14 | ·············· |
| 'Tis a league and a league to the Lena Falls where the trooping blackbuck go; | 18 | ········/˘···/˘··· |
| But I can hear the little fawn that bleats behind the doe. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| 'Tis a league and a league to the Lena Falls where the crop and the upland meet, | 19 | ········/˘······/˘· |
| But I can smell the wet dawn-wind that wakes the sprouting wheat. | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| Unbar the door, I may not bide, but I must out and see | 14 | ˘/············ |
| If those are wolves that wait outside or my own kin to me!' | 14 | ······//······ |
| She loosed the bar, she slid the bolt, she opened the door anon, | 15 | ·········/˘··˘/ |
| And a grey bitch-wolf came out of the dark and fawned on the Only Son! | 17 | ··············/˘· |
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.