Sunshine
The sun gives not directlyThe coal, the diamond crown;Not in a special basketAre these from Heaven let down.
The sun gives not directlyThe plough, man's iron friend;Not by a path or stairwayDo tools from Heaven descend.
Yet sunshine fashions all thingsThat cut or burn or fly;And corn that seems upon the earthIs made in the hot sky.
The gravel of the roadbed,The metal of the gun,The engine of the airshipTrace somehow from the sun.
And so your soul, my lady--(Mere sunshine, nothing more)--Prepares me the contraptionsI work with or adore.
Within me cornfields rustle,Niagaras roar their way,Vast thunderstorms and rainbowsAre in my thought to-day.
Ten thousand anvils sound thereBy forges flaming white,And many books I read there,And many books I write;
And freedom's bells are ringing,And bird-choirs chant and fly--The whole world works in me to-dayAnd all the shining sky,
Because of one small ladyWhose smile is my chief sun.She gives not any gift to meYet all gifts, giving one....Amen.
Words in this poem
- stairway n.
- A flight of stairs or steps; a staircase.
- 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.
- roadbed n.
- In railroads, the bed or foundation on which the superstructure (ties, rails, etc.) rests; in common roads, the whole material laid in place and ready for travel.
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- rustle v. i.
- To make a quick succession of small sounds, like the rubbing or moving of silk cloth or dry leaves. [AS. hristlan to rustle; or cf. Sw. rusta to stir, make a riot, or E. rush, v.]
- amen interj.
- An expression used at the end of prayers, and meaning, So be it. At the end of a creed, it is a solemn asseveration of belief. [L. amen, Gr. am certainly, truly.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sunshine is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Congo, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #1021; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Vachel Lindsay, Sunshine, in The Congo and Other Poems (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1021, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lindsay-congo/sunshine.html, id L00973.
Form and metre
Sunshine is 37 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.4 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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-A directly · crownA · basket · downA
- 2 -A-A directly · friendA · stairway · descendA
- 3 -A-A things · flyA · earth · skyA
- 4 -A-A roadbed · gunA · airship · sunA
- 5 -A-A lady · moreA · contraptions · adoreA
- 6 -A-A rustle · wayA · rainbows · dayA
- 7 ABAB thereA · whiteB · thereA · writeB
- 8 -A-A ringing · flyA · day · skyA
- 9 -A-A- lady · sunA · me · oneA · amen
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The sun gives not directly | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| The coal, the diamond crown; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Not in a special basket | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Are these from Heaven let down. | 6 | ···/·· |
| The sun gives not directly | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| The plough, man's iron friend; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Not by a path or stairway | 7 | ·····/· |
| Do tools from Heaven descend. | 6 | ···/˘/ |
| Yet sunshine fashions all things | 7 | ·/·/˘·· |
| That cut or burn or fly; | 6 | ······ |
| And corn that seems upon the earth | 8 | ········ |
| Is made in the hot sky. | 6 | ······ |
| The gravel of the roadbed, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| The metal of the gun, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The engine of the airship | 7 | ·/˘··/· |
| Trace somehow from the sun. | 6 | ·/···· |
| And so your soul, my lady-- | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| (Mere sunshine, nothing more)-- | 6 | ·/·/˘· |
| Prepares me the contraptions | 7 | ˘/··˘/˘ |
| I work with or adore. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Within me cornfields rustle, | 7 | ···///˘ |
| Niagaras roar their way, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Vast thunderstorms and rainbows | 7 | ·/˘··/· |
| Are in my thought to-day. | 6 | ······ |
| Ten thousand anvils sound there | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| By forges flaming white, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And many books I read there, | 6 | ·/···· |
| And many books I write; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And freedom's bells are ringing, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And bird-choirs chant and fly-- | 6 | ······ |
| The whole world works in me to-day | 8 | ········ |
| And all the shining sky, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Because of one small lady | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Whose smile is my chief sun. | 6 | ······ |
| She gives not any gift to me | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Yet all gifts, giving one.... | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Amen. | 2 | ˘/ |
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.