Spring Longing
What art thou doing here, O Imagination? Goaway I entreat thee by the gods, as thou didstcome, for I want thee not. But thou art comeaccording to thy old fashion. I am not angrywith thee--only go away.--Marcus Antoninus
Lilac hazes veil the skies.Languid sighsBreathes the mild, caressing air.Pink as coral's branching sprays,Orchard waysWith the blossomed peach are fair.
Sunshine, cordial as a kiss,Poureth blissIn this craving soul of mine,And my heart her flower-cupLifteth up,Thirsting for the draught divine.
Swift the liquid golden flameThrough my frameSets my throbbing veins afire.Bright, alluring dreams arise,Brim mine eyesWith the tears of strong desire.
All familiar scenes anearDisappear--Homestead, orchard, field, and wold.Moorish spires and turrets fairCleave the air,Arabesqued on skies of gold.
Low, my spirit, this May morn,Outward borne,Over seas hath taken wing:Where the mediaeval town,Like a crown,Wears the garland of the Spring.
Light and sound and odors sweetFill the street;Gypsy girls are selling flowers.Lean hidalgos turn aside,Amorous-eyed,'Neath the grim cathedral towers.
Oh, to be in Spain to-day,Where the MayRecks no whit of good or evil,Love and only love breathes she!Oh, to be'Midst the olive-rows of Seville!
Or on such a day to glideWith the tideOf the berylline lagoon,Through the streets that mirror heaven,Crystal paven,In the warm Venetian noon.
At the prow the gondolierMay not hear,May not see our furtive kiss;But he lends with cadenced strainThe refrainTo our ripe and silent bliss.
Golden shadows, silver light,Burnish brightAir and water, domes and skies;As in some ambrosial dream,On the streamFloats our bark in magic wise.
Oh, to float day long just so!Naught to knowOf the trouble, toil, and fret!This is love, and this is May:YesterdayAnd to-morrow to forget!
Whither hast thou, Fancy free,Guided me,Wild Bohemian sister dear?All thy gypsy soul is stirredSince yon birdWarbled that the Spring was here.
Tempt no more! I may not follow,Like the swallow,Gayly on the track of Spring.Bounden by an iron fate,I must wait,Dream and wonder, yearn and sing.
Words in this poem 21
- entreat v. t.
- To treat, or conduct toward; to deal with; to use. [OE. entreten to treat, request, OF. entraiter to treat of; pref. en- (L. in) + traitier to treat. See Treat.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- anear v. t.
- To near; to approach.
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
- arabesqued a.
- Ornamented in the style of arabesques.
- 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.]
- mediaeval a.
- Of or relating to the Middle Ages; as, mediæval architecture. [L. medius middle + aevum age. See Middle, and Age.]
- whit n.
- The smallest part or particle imaginable; a bit; a jot; an iota; -- generally used in an adverbial phrase in a negative sentence. [OE. wight, wiht, AS. wiht a creature, a thing. See Wight, and cf. Aught, Naught.]
- berylline a.
- Like a beryl; of a light or bluish green color.
- lagoon n.
- A shallow sound, channel, pond, or lake, especially one into which the sea flows; as, the lagoons of Venice. [It. or Sp. laguna, L. lacuna ditch, pool, pond,lacus lake. See Lake, and cf. Lacuna.]
- gondolier n.
- A man who rows a gondola. [It. gondoliere: cf. F. gondolier.]
- furtive a.
- Stolen; obtained or characterized by stealth; sly; secret; stealthy; as, a furtive look. Prior. [L. furtivus, fr. furtum theft, fr. fur thief, akin to ferre to bear: cf. F. furtif. See Fertile.]
- burnish v. t.
- To cause to shine; to make smooth and bright; to polish; specifically, to polish by rubbing with something hard and smooth; as, to burnish brass or paper. [OE. burnischen, burnissen, burnen, OF. burnir, brunir, to make brown, polish, F. brunir, fr. F. brun brown, fr. OHG. br; cf. MHG. briunen to make brown, polish.]
- ambrosial a.
- Consisting of, or partaking of the nature of, ambrosia; delighting the taste or smell; delicious.
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- gayly adv.
- With mirth and frolic; merrily; blithely; gleefully.
- bounden a.
- Bound; fastened by bonds. [Old. p. p. of bind.]
- yearn v. t.
- To pain; to grieve; to vex. [Also earn, ern; probably a corruption of OE. ermen to grieve, AS. ierman, yrman, or geierman, geyrman, fr. earm wretched, poor; akin to D. & G. arm, Icel. armr,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Spring Longing is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #3295; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Emma Lazarus, Spring Longing, in Poems, Volume I (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/spring-longing.html, id L01906.
Form and metre
Spring Longing is 84 lines in 14 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 11 of its 14 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.1 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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.
- 2 AABCCB skiesA · sighsA · airB · spraysC · waysC · fairB
- 3 AABCCB kissA · blissA · mineB · cupC · upC · divineB
- 4 AA-BB- flameA · frameA · afire · ariseB · eyesB · desire
- 5 AABCCB anearA · disappearA · woldB · fairC · airC · goldB
- 6 AABCCB mornA · borneA · wingB · townC · crownC · springB
- 7 AABCCB sweetA · streetA · flowersB · asideC · eyedC · towersB
- 8 AABCCB dayA · mayA · evilB · sheC · beC · sevilleB
- 9 AABB-B glideA · tideA · lagoonB · heavenB · paven · noonB
- 10 AABCCB gondolierA · hearA · kissB · strainC · refrainC · blissB
- 11 AABCCB lightA · brightA · skiesB · dreamC · streamC · wiseB
- 12 AABCCB soA · knowA · fretB · mayC · yesterdayC · forgetB
- 13 AABCCB freeA · meA · dearB · stirredC · birdC · hereB
- 14 AABCCB followA · swallowA · springB · fateC · waitC · singB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What art thou doing here, O Imagination? Go | 12 | ···/··˘·˘/˘· |
| away I entreat thee by the gods, as thou didst | 12 | ˘/·˘/······· |
| come, for I want thee not. But thou art come | 10 | ·········· |
| according to thy old fashion. I am not angry | 13 | ˘/˘···/˘···/˘ |
| with thee--only go away. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| --Marcus Antoninus | 6 | /˘···· |
| Lilac hazes veil the skies. | 7 | /·/˘··· |
| Languid sighs | 3 | /˘· |
| Breathes the mild, caressing air. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Pink as coral's branching sprays, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Orchard ways | 3 | /˘· |
| With the blossomed peach are fair. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Sunshine, cordial as a kiss, | 7 | /·/˘··· |
| Poureth bliss | 3 | /˘· |
| In this craving soul of mine, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And my heart her flower-cup | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Lifteth up, | 3 | /˘· |
| Thirsting for the draught divine. | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Swift the liquid golden flame | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Through my frame | 3 | ··· |
| Sets my throbbing veins afire. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Bright, alluring dreams arise, | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Brim mine eyes | 3 | ··· |
| With the tears of strong desire. | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| All familiar scenes anear | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Disappear-- | 3 | ·˘/ |
| Homestead, orchard, field, and wold. | 7 | /·/˘··· |
| Moorish spires and turrets fair | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Cleave the air, | 3 | ··· |
| Arabesqued on skies of gold. | 7 | ······· |
| Low, my spirit, this May morn, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Outward borne, | 3 | /˘· |
| Over seas hath taken wing: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Where the mediaeval town, | 6 | ······ |
| Like a crown, | 3 | ··· |
| Wears the garland of the Spring. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Light and sound and odors sweet | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Fill the street; | 3 | ··· |
| Gypsy girls are selling flowers. | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| Lean hidalgos turn aside, | 7 | ·˘/··˘/ |
| Amorous-eyed, | 4 | /˘˘· |
| 'Neath the grim cathedral towers. | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| Oh, to be in Spain to-day, | 7 | ······· |
| Where the May | 3 | ··· |
| Recks no whit of good or evil, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Love and only love breathes she! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Oh, to be | 3 | ··· |
| 'Midst the olive-rows of Seville! | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| Or on such a day to glide | 7 | ······· |
| With the tide | 3 | ··· |
| Of the berylline lagoon, | 7 | ··/˘˘˘/ |
| Through the streets that mirror heaven, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Crystal paven, | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| In the warm Venetian noon. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| At the prow the gondolier | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| May not hear, | 3 | ··· |
| May not see our furtive kiss; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| But he lends with cadenced strain | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The refrain | 3 | ·˘/ |
| To our ripe and silent bliss. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Golden shadows, silver light, | 7 | /˘/·/˘· |
| Burnish bright | 3 | /˘· |
| Air and water, domes and skies; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| As in some ambrosial dream, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| On the stream | 3 | ··· |
| Floats our bark in magic wise. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Oh, to float day long just so! | 7 | ······· |
| Naught to know | 3 | ··· |
| Of the trouble, toil, and fret! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| This is love, and this is May: | 7 | ······· |
| Yesterday | 3 | /˘· |
| And to-morrow to forget! | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Whither hast thou, Fancy free, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Guided me, | 3 | /˘· |
| Wild Bohemian sister dear? | 8 | ·˘/˘˘/˘· |
| All thy gypsy soul is stirred | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Since yon bird | 3 | ··· |
| Warbled that the Spring was here. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Tempt no more! I may not follow, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Like the swallow, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Gayly on the track of Spring. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Bounden by an iron fate, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| I must wait, | 3 | ··· |
| Dream and wonder, yearn and sing. | 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.