Blind Bartimeus
Be not impatient, Chilion; it is pleasantTo sit here in the shadow of the wallsUnder the palms, and hear the hum of bees,And rumor of voices passing to and fro,And drowsy bells of caravans on their wayTo Sidon or Damascus. This is stillThe City of Palms, and yet the walls thou seestAre not the old walls, not the walls where RahabHid the two spies, and let them down by cordsOut of the window, when the gates were shut,And it was dark. Those walls were overthrownWhen Joshua's army shouted, and the priestsBlew with their seven trumpets.
When was that?
O my sweet rose of Jericho, I know notHundreds of years ago. And over thereBeyond the river, the great prophet ElijahWas taken by a whirlwind up to heavenIn chariot of fire, with fiery horses.That is the plain of Moab; and beyond itRise the blue summits of Mount Abarim,Nebo and Pisgah and Peor, where MosesDied, whom the Lord knew face to face? and whomHe buried in a valley, and no manKnows of his sepulchre unto this day.
Would thou couldst see these places, as I see them.
I have not seen a glimmer of the lightSince thou wast born. I never saw thy face,And yet I seem to see it; and one dayPerhaps shall see it; for there is a ProphetIn Galilee, the Messiah, the Son of David,Who heals the blind, if I could only find him.I hear the sound of many feet approaching,And voices, like the murmur of a crowd!What seest thou?
A young man clad in whiteIs coming through the gateway, and a crowdOf people follow.
Can it be the Prophet!O neighbors, tell me who it is that passes?
Words in this poem
- trumpets n.
- A plant (Sarracenia flava) with long, hollow leaves.
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
- 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,]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Blind Bartimeus is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Blind Bartimeus, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/blind-bartimeus-2.html, id L17872.
Form and metre
Blind Bartimeus is 40 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.7 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 55% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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.
- 5 A--AB--B- lightA · face · day · prophetA · davidB · him · approaching · crowdB · thou
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Be not impatient, Chilion; it is pleasant | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| To sit here in the shadow of the walls | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Under the palms, and hear the hum of bees, | 10 | ·········· |
| And rumor of voices passing to and fro, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘/˘··· |
| And drowsy bells of caravans on their way | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| To Sidon or Damascus. This is still | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| The City of Palms, and yet the walls thou seest | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Are not the old walls, not the walls where Rahab | 11 | ··········· |
| Hid the two spies, and let them down by cords | 10 | ·········· |
| Out of the window, when the gates were shut, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And it was dark. Those walls were overthrown | 10 | ········˘/ |
| When Joshua's army shouted, and the priests | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Blew with their seven trumpets. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| When was that? | 3 | ··· |
| O my sweet rose of Jericho, I know not | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Hundreds of years ago. And over there | 10 | /˘··˘/···· |
| Beyond the river, the great prophet Elijah | 12 | ···/˘··/˘˘/˘ |
| Was taken by a whirlwind up to heaven | 11 | ·/˘··/···/˘ |
| In chariot of fire, with fiery horses. | 11 | ·/˘·/·/˘˘/˘ |
| That is the plain of Moab; and beyond it | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Rise the blue summits of Mount Abarim, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Nebo and Pisgah and Peor, where Moses | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Died, whom the Lord knew face to face? and whom | 10 | ·········· |
| He buried in a valley, and no man | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Knows of his sepulchre unto this day. | 9 | ········· |
| Would thou couldst see these places, as I see them. | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| I have not seen a glimmer of the light | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Since thou wast born. I never saw thy face, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And yet I seem to see it; and one day | 10 | ·········· |
| Perhaps shall see it; for there is a Prophet | 11 | ˘/·······/˘ |
| In Galilee, the Messiah, the Son of David, | 13 | ·/˘··˘/˘···/˘ |
| Who heals the blind, if I could only find him. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| I hear the sound of many feet approaching, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| And voices, like the murmur of a crowd! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| What seest thou? | 3 | ··· |
| A young man clad in white | 6 | ······ |
| Is coming through the gateway, and a crowd | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| Of people follow. | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Can it be the Prophet! | 6 | ····/˘ |
| O neighbors, tell me who it is that passes? | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
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