Laurel · George MacDonald · A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems

The Three Horses

George MacDonald (1824–1905) · 1893

iambic tetrameter · ABABAB · 192 lines · from A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems

What shall I be?--I will be a knightWalled up in armour black,With a sword of sharpness, a hammer of might.And a spear that will not crack--So black, so blank, no glimmer of lightWill betray my darkling track.

Saddle my coal-black steed, my men,Fittest for sunless work;Old Night is steaming from her den,And her children gather and lurk;Bad things are creeping from the fen,And sliding down the murk.

Let him go!--let him go! Let him plunge!--Keep away!He's a foal of the third seal's brood!Gaunt with armour, in grim arrayOf poitrel and frontlet-hood,Let him go, a living castle, away--Right for the evil wood.

I and Ravenwing on the course,Heavy in fighting gear--Woe to the thing that checks our force,That meets us in career!Giant, enchanter, devil, or worse--What cares the couched spear!

Slow through the trees zigzag I ride.See! the goblins!--to and fro!From the skull of the dark, on either side,See the eyes of a dragon glow!From the thickets the silent serpents glide--I pass them, I let them go;

For somewhere in the evil nightA little one cries alone;An aged knight, outnumbered in fight,But for me will be stricken prone;A lady with terror is staring white,For her champion is overthrown.

The child in my arms, to my hauberk prest,Like a trembling bird will cling;I will cover him over, in iron nest,With my shield, my one steel wing,And bear him home to his mother's breast,A radiant, rescued thing.

Spur in flank, and lance in rest,On the old knight's foes I flash;The caitiffs I scatter to east and westWith clang and hurtle and crash;Leave them the law, as knaves learn it best,In bruise, and breach, and gash.

The lady I lift on my panting steed;On the pommel she holds my mace;Hand on bridle I gently leadThe horse at a gentle pace;The thickets with martel-axe I heed,For the wood is an evil place.

What treasure is there in manly mightThat hid in the bosom lies!Who for the crying will not fightHad better be he that cries!A man is a knight that loves the rightAnd mounts for it till he dies.

Alas, 'tis a dream of ages hoar!In the fens no dragons won;No giants from moated castles roar;Through the forest wide roadways run;Of all the deeds they did of yoreNot one is left to be done!

If I should saddle old RavenwingAnd hie me out at night,Scared little birds away would springAn ill-shot arrow's flight:The idle fancy away I fling,Now I will dream aright!

Let a youth bridle Twilight, my dapple-gray,With broad rein and snaffle bit;He must bring him round at break of dayWhen the shadows begin to flit,When the darkness begins to dream away,And the owls begin to sit.

Ungraithed in plate or mail I go,With only my sword--gray-blueLike the scythe of the dawning come to mowThe night-sprung shadows anewFrom the gates of the east, that, fair and slow,Maid Morning may walk through.

I seek no forest with darkness grim,To the open land I ride;Low light, from the broad horizon's brim,Lies wet on the flowing tide,And mottles with shadows dun and dimThe mountain's rugged side.

Steadily, hasteless, o'er valley and hill.O'er the moor, along the beach,We ride, nor slacken our pace untilSome city of men we reach;There, in the market, my horse stands still,And I lift my voice and preach.

Wealth and poverty, age and youthAround me gather and throng;I tell them of justice, of wisdom, of truth,Of mercy, and law, and wrong;My words are moulded by right and ruthTo a solemn-chanted song.

They bring me questions which would be scanned,That strife may be forgot;Swerves my balance to neither hand,The poor I favour no jot;If a man withstand, out sweeps my brand.I slay him upon the spot.

But what if my eye have in it a beamAnd therefore spy his mote?Righteousness only, wisdom supremeCan tell the sheep from the goat!Not thus I dream a wise man's dream,Not thus take Wrong by the throat!

Lead Twilight home. I dare not kill;The sword myself would scare.--When the sun looks over the eastern hill,Bring out my snow-white mare:One labour is left which no one willDeny me the right to share!

Take heed, my men, from crest to heelSnow-white have no speck;No curb, no bit her mouth must feel,No tightening rein her neck;No saddle-girth drawn with buckle of steelShall her mighty breathing check!

Lay on her a cloth of silver sheen,Bring me a robe of white;Wherever we go we must be seenBy the shining of our light--A glistening splendour in forest green,A star on the mountain-height.

With jar and shudder the gates unclose;Out in the sun she leaps!A unit of light and power she goesLevelling vales and steeps:The wind around her eddies and blows,Before and behind her sleeps.

Oh joy, oh joy to ride the worldAnd glad, good tidings bear!A flag of peace on the winds unfurledIs the mane of my shining mare:To the sound of her hoofs, lo, the dead stars hurledQuivering adown the air!

Oh, the sun and the wind! Oh, the life and the love!Where the serpent swung all dayThe loud dove coos to the silent dove;Where the web-winged dragon layIn its hole beneath, on the rock aboveMerry-tongued children play.

With eyes of light the maidens look upAs they sit in the summer heatTwining green blade with golden cup--They see, and they rise to their feet;I call aloud, for I must not stop,"Good tidings, my sisters sweet!"

For mine is a message of holy mirthTo city and land of corn;Of praise for heaviness, plenty for dearth,For darkness a shining morn:Clap hands, ye billows; be glad, O earth,For a child, a child is born!

Lo, even the just shall live by faith!None argue of mine and thine!Old Self shall die an ecstatic deathAnd be born a thing divine,For God's own being and God's own breathShall be its bread and wine.

Ambition shall vanish, and Love be king,And Pride to his darkness hie;Yea, for very love of a living thingA man would forget and die,If very love were not the springWhence life springs endlessly!

The myrtle shall grow where grew the thorn;Earth shall be young as heaven;The heart with remorse or anger tornShall weep like a summer even;For to us a child, a child is born,Unto us a son is given!

Lord, with thy message I dare not ride!I am a fool, a beast!The little ones only from thy sideGo forth to publish thy feast!And I, where but sons and daughters abide,Would have walked about, a priest!

Take Snow-white back to her glimmering stall;There let her stand and feed!--I am overweening, ambitious, small,A creature of pride and greed!Let me wash the hoofs, let me be the thrall,Jesus, of thy white steed!

Words in this poem 38

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,]
armour n.: Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.]
darkling a.: Becoming dark or gloomy; frowing.
steed n.: A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
sunless a.: Destitute or deprived of the sun or its rays; shaded; shadowed.
murk n.: Darkness; mirk.
foal n.: The young of any animal of the Horse family (Equidæ); a colt; a filly. Foal teeth (Zoöl.), the first set of teeth of a horse. [OE. fole, AS. fola; akin to OHG. folo, G. fohlen, Goth. fula, Icel. foli, Sw Lfle, Gr., L. pullus a young animal. Cf. Filly, Poultry, Pullet.]
gaunt a.: Attenuated, as with fasting or suffering; lean; meager; pinched and grim. [Cf. Norw. gand a thin pointed stick, a tall and thin man, and W. gwan weak.]
poitrel n.: The breastplate of the armor of a horse. See Peytrel. [OE. poitrel, F. poitrail, fr. L. pectorale a breastplate, fr. pectoralis, a. See Pectoral, a.]
career n.: A race course: the ground run over. [F. carrière race course, high road, street, fr. L. carrus wagon. See Car.]
enchanter n.: One who enchants; a sorcerer or magician; also, one who delights as by an enchantment. [Cf. F. enchanteur.]
somewhere adv.: In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
stricken p. p.: Struck; smitten; wounded; as, the stricken deer.
prest a.: Ready; prompt; prepared. [OF. prest, F. prêt, fr. L. praestus ready. Cf. Presto.]
clang v. t.: To strike together so as to produce a ringing metallic sound. [L. clangere; akin to Gr. clank.]
hurtle v. i.: To meet with violence or shock; to clash; to jostle. [OE. hurtlen, freq. of hurten. See Hurt, v. t., and cf. Hurl.]
hoar v. t.: To become moldy or musty. [AS. harian to grow gray.]
yore adv.: In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
aright adv.: Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
dapple n.: One of the spots on a dappled animal. [Cf. Icel. depill a spot, a dot, a dog with spots over the eyes, dapi a pool, and E. dimple.]
flit a.: Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
wealth n.: Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
ruth n.: Sorrow for the misery of another; pity; tenderness. [From Rue, v.: cf. Icel. hryggedh, hrygedh.]
strife n.: The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
favour n.: Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
mote n.: A meeting of persons for discussion; as, a wardmote in the city of London. [See Moot, a meeting.]
righteousness n.: The quality or state of being righteous; holiness; purity; uprightness; rectitude. [AS. rihtwisnes.]
scare v. t.: To frighten; to strike with sudden fear; to alarm. [OE. skerren, skeren, Icel. skirra to bar, prevent, skirrask to shun , shrink from; or fr. OE. skerre, adj., scared, Icel. skjarr; both perhaps akin to E. sheer ]
sheen v. i.: To shine; to glisten.
wherever adv.: At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
splendour n.: Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
adown adv.: From a higher to a lower situation; downward; down, to or on the ground. [OE. adun, adoun, adune. AS. of dune off the hill. See Down.]
aloud adv.: With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
heaviness n.: The state or quality of being heavy in its various senses; weight; sadness; sluggishness; oppression; thickness.
dearth n.: Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine. [OE. derthe, fr. dere. See Dear.]
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.]
endlessly adv.: In an endless manner.
greed n.: An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Three Horses is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: George MacDonald, The Three Horses, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/the-three-horses.html, id L22264.

Form and metre

The Three Horses is 192 lines in 32 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABAB, complete in 25 of its 32 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).

See other poems in iambic 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.

1 ABABAB knight^A · black^B · might^A · crack^B · light^A · track^B
2 ABABAB men^A · work^B · den^A · lurk^B · fen^A · murk^B
3 A-ABAB away^A · brood · array^A · hood^B · away^A · wood^B
4 ABAB-B course^A · gear^B · force^A · career^B · worse · spear^B
5 ABABAB ride^A · fro^B · side^A · glow^B · glide^A · go^B
6 ABABAB night^A · alone^B · fight^A · prone^B · white^A · overthrown^B
7 ABABAB prest^A · cling^B · nest^A · wing^B · breast^A · thing^B
8 ABABAB rest^A · flash^B · west^A · crash^B · best^A · gash^B
9 ABABAB steed^A · mace^B · lead^A · pace^B · heed^A · place^B
10 ABABAB might^A · lies^B · fight^A · cries^B · right^A · dies^B
11 ABABAB hoar^A · won^B · roar^A · run^B · yore^A · done^B
12 ABABAB ravenwing^A · night^B · spring^A · flight^B · fling^A · aright^B
13 ABABAB gray^A · bit^B · day^A · flit^B · away^A · sit^B
14 ABABAB go^A · blue^B · mow^A · anew^B · slow^A · through^B
15 ABABAB grim^A · ride^B · brim^A · tide^B · dim^A · side^B
16 ABABAB hill^A · beach^B · until^A · reach^B · still^A · preach^B
17 ABABAB youth^A · throng^B · truth^A · wrong^B · ruth^A · song^B
18 ABABAB scanned^A · forgot^B · hand^A · jot^B · brand^A · spot^B
19 ABABAB beam^A · mote^B · supreme^A · goat^B · dream^A · throat^B
20 ABABAB kill^A · scare^B · hill^A · mare^B · will^A · share^B
21 ABABAB heel^A · speck^B · feel^A · neck^B · steel^A · check^B
22 ABABAB sheen^A · white^B · seen^A · light^B · green^A · height^B
23 ABA-AB unclose^A · leaps^B · goes^A · steeps · blows^A · sleeps^B
24 ABABAB world^A · bear^B · unfurled^A · mare^B · hurled^A · air^B
25 ABABAB love^A · day^B · dove^A · lay^B · above^A · play^B
26 ABAB-B up^A · heat^B · cup^A · feet^B · stop · sweet^B
27 ABABAB mirth^A · corn^B · dearth^A · morn^B · earth^A · born^B
28 -ABABA faith · thine^A · death^B · divine^A · breath^B · wine^A
29 A-A-A- king^A · hie · thing^A · die · spring^A · endlessly
30 A-A-A- thorn^A · heaven · torn^A · even · born^A · given
31 ABABAB ride^A · beast^B · side^A · feast^B · abide^A · priest^B
32 ABABAB stall^A · feed^B · small^A · greed^B · thrall^A · steed^B

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 tetrameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
What shall I be?--I will be a knight	9	·········
Walled up in armour black,	6	···/˘·
With a sword of sharpness, a hammer of might.	11	····/˘·/˘··
And a spear that will not crack--	7	·······
So black, so blank, no glimmer of light	9	·····/˘··
Will betray my darkling track.	7	·˘/·/˘·
Saddle my coal-black steed, my men,	8	/˘······
Fittest for sunless work;	6	/˘·/˘·
Old Night is steaming from her den,	8	···/˘···
And her children gather and lurk;	8	··/˘/˘··
Bad things are creeping from the fen,	8	···/˘···
And sliding down the murk.	6	·/˘···
Let him go!--let him go! Let him plunge!--Keep away!	12	··········˘/
He's a foal of the third seal's brood!	8	········
Gaunt with armour, in grim array	8	··/˘··˘/
Of poitrel and frontlet-hood,	7	·/˘·/˘·
Let him go, a living castle, away--	10	····/˘/˘˘/
Right for the evil wood.	6	···/˘·
I and Ravenwing on the course,	8	········
Heavy in fighting gear--	6	/˘·/˘·
Woe to the thing that checks our force,	9	······/˘·
That meets us in career!	6	····˘/
Giant, enchanter, devil, or worse--	9	/˘˘/˘/˘··
What cares the couched spear!	5	·····
Slow through the trees zigzag I ride.	8	····/˘··
See! the goblins!--to and fro!	7	··/˘···
From the skull of the dark, on either side,	10	·······/˘·
See the eyes of a dragon glow!	8	·····/˘·
From the thickets the silent serpents glide--	10	··/˘·/˘/˘·
I pass them, I let them go;	7	·······
For somewhere in the evil night	8	·/···/˘·
A little one cries alone;	7	·/˘··˘/
An aged knight, outnumbered in fight,	9	····/˘˘··
But for me will be stricken prone;	8	·····/˘·
A lady with terror is staring white,	10	·/˘·/˘·/˘·
For her champion is overthrown.	9	··/˘˘··˘/
The child in my arms, to my hauberk prest,	10	·······/˘·
Like a trembling bird will cling;	8	··/˘˘···
I will cover him over, in iron nest,	10	··/˘···/˘·
With my shield, my one steel wing,	7	·······
And bear him home to his mother's breast,	9	······/˘·
A radiant, rescued thing.	7	·/˘˘/˘·
Spur in flank, and lance in rest,	7	·······
On the old knight's foes I flash;	7	·······
The caitiffs I scatter to east and west	10	····/˘····
With clang and hurtle and crash;	7	···/˘··
Leave them the law, as knaves learn it best,	9	·········
In bruise, and breach, and gash.	6	······
The lady I lift on my panting steed;	10	·/˘····/˘·
On the pommel she holds my mace;	8	··/˘····
Hand on bridle I gently lead	8	··/˘·/˘·
The horse at a gentle pace;	7	····/˘·
The thickets with martel-axe I heed,	9	·/˘·/····
For the wood is an evil place.	8	·····/˘·
What treasure is there in manly might	9	·/˘···/˘·
That hid in the bosom lies!	7	····/˘·
Who for the crying will not fight	8	···/˘···
Had better be he that cries!	7	·/˘····
A man is a knight that loves the right	9	·········
And mounts for it till he dies.	7	·······
Alas, 'tis a dream of ages hoar!	9	˘/····/˘·
In the fens no dragons won;	7	····/˘·
No giants from moated castles roar;	9	·/˘·/˘/˘·
Through the forest wide roadways run;	8	··/˘·/··
Of all the deeds they did of yore	8	········
Not one is left to be done!	7	·······
If I should saddle old Ravenwing	9	···/˘····
And hie me out at night,	6	······
Scared little birds away would spring	9	·˘/˘·˘/··
An ill-shot arrow's flight:	6	···/˘·
The idle fancy away I fling,	9	·/˘/˘˘/··
Now I will dream aright!	6	····˘/
Let a youth bridle Twilight, my dapple-gray,	11	···/˘/··/˘·
With broad rein and snaffle bit;	7	····/˘·
He must bring him round at break of day	9	·········
When the shadows begin to flit,	8	··/·˘/··
When the darkness begins to dream away,	10	··/˘˘/··˘/
And the owls begin to sit.	7	···˘/··
Ungraithed in plate or mail I go,	9	··˘······
With only my sword--gray-blue	7	·/˘····
Like the scythe of the dawning come to mow	10	·····/˘···
The night-sprung shadows anew	7	···/·˘/
From the gates of the east, that, fair and slow,	10	··········
Maid Morning may walk through.	6	·/˘···
I seek no forest with darkness grim,	9	···/˘·/˘·
To the open land I ride;	7	··/˘···
Low light, from the broad horizon's brim,	9	·····˘/˘·
Lies wet on the flowing tide,	7	····/˘·
And mottles with shadows dun and dim	9	·/˘·/····
The mountain's rugged side.	6	·/˘/˘·
Steadily, hasteless, o'er valley and hill.	10	/˘····/˘··
O'er the moor, along the beach,	7	···˘/··
We ride, nor slacken our pace until	10	···/˘/˘···
Some city of men we reach;	7	·/˘····
There, in the market, my horse stands still,	9	···/˘····
And I lift my voice and preach.	7	·······
Wealth and poverty, age and youth	8	··/˘˘···
Around me gather and throng;	7	···/˘··
I tell them of justice, of wisdom, of truth,	11	····/˘·/˘··
Of mercy, and law, and wrong;	7	·/˘····
My words are moulded by right and ruth	9	···/˘····
To a solemn-chanted song.	7	··/˘/˘·
They bring me questions which would be scanned,	10	···/˘····˘
That strife may be forgot;	6	····˘/
Swerves my balance to neither hand,	8	··/˘·/˘·
The poor I favour no jot;	7	···/˘··
If a man withstand, out sweeps my brand.	9	···˘/····
I slay him upon the spot.	7	·······
But what if my eye have in it a beam	10	··········
And therefore spy his mote?	6	······
Righteousness only, wisdom supreme	9	/˘˘/˘/˘˘/
Can tell the sheep from the goat!	7	·······
Not thus I dream a wise man's dream,	8	········
Not thus take Wrong by the throat!	7	·······
Lead Twilight home. I dare not kill;	8	·/······
The sword myself would scare.--	6	···/··
When the sun looks over the eastern hill,	10	·······/˘·
Bring out my snow-white mare:	6	······
One labour is left which no one will	9	·/·······
Deny me the right to share!	7	˘/·····
Take heed, my men, from crest to heel	8	········
Snow-white have no speck;	5	·····
No curb, no bit her mouth must feel,	8	········
No tightening rein her neck;	7	·/˘˘···
No saddle-girth drawn with buckle of steel	10	·/˘···/˘··
Shall her mighty breathing check!	7	··/˘/˘·
Lay on her a cloth of silver sheen,	9	······/˘·
Bring me a robe of white;	6	······
Wherever we go we must be seen	9	˘/˘······
By the shining of our light--	8	··/˘·/˘·
A glistening splendour in forest green,	10	·/˘˘/˘·/˘·
A star on the mountain-height.	7	····/˘·
With jar and shudder the gates unclose;	9	···/˘··˘/
Out in the sun she leaps!	6	······
A unit of light and power she goes	10	·/˘···/˘··
Levelling vales and steeps:	6	˘/˘···
The wind around her eddies and blows,	9	·····/˘··
Before and behind her sleeps.	7	·······
Oh joy, oh joy to ride the world	8	········
And glad, good tidings bear!	6	···/˘·
A flag of peace on the winds unfurled	10	·······˘/˘
Is the mane of my shining mare:	8	·····/˘·
To the sound of her hoofs, lo, the dead stars hurled	11	···········
Quivering adown the air!	7	/˘˘˘/··
Oh, the sun and the wind! Oh, the life and the love!	12	············
Where the serpent swung all day	7	··/˘···
The loud dove coos to the silent dove;	9	······/˘·
Where the web-winged dragon lay	7	····/˘·
In its hole beneath, on the rock above	10	··········
Merry-tongued children play.	6	/˘·/˘·
With eyes of light the maidens look up	9	·····/˘··
As they sit in the summer heat	8	·····/˘·
Twining green blade with golden cup--	8	/˘···/˘·
They see, and they rise to their feet;	8	········
I call aloud, for I must not stop,	9	··˘/·····
"Good tidings, my sisters sweet!"	7	·/˘·/˘·
For mine is a message of holy mirth	10	····/˘·/˘·
To city and land of corn;	7	·/˘····
Of praise for heaviness, plenty for dearth,	10	···/˘˘/˘··
For darkness a shining morn:	7	·/˘·/˘·
Clap hands, ye billows; be glad, O earth,	9	···/˘····
For a child, a child is born!	7	·······
Lo, even the just shall live by faith!	9	·/˘······
None argue of mine and thine!	7	·/˘····
Old Self shall die an ecstatic death	9	·····˘/˘·
And be born a thing divine,	7	·····˘/
For God's own being and God's own breath	9	···/˘····
Shall be its bread and wine.	6	······
Ambition shall vanish, and Love be king,	10	˘/˘·/˘····
And Pride to his darkness hie;	7	····/˘·
Yea, for very love of a living thing	10	··/˘···/˘·
A man would forget and die,	7	···˘/··
If very love were not the spring	8	·/˘·····
Whence life springs endlessly!	6	···/˘˘
The myrtle shall grow where grew the thorn;	9	·/˘······
Earth shall be young as heaven;	7	·····/˘
The heart with remorse or anger torn	9	···˘/·/˘·
Shall weep like a summer even;	8	····/˘/˘
For to us a child, a child is born,	9	·········
Unto us a son is given!	8	······/˘
Lord, with thy message I dare not ride!	9	···/˘····
I am a fool, a beast!	6	······
The little ones only from thy side	9	·/˘·/˘···
Go forth to publish thy feast!	7	···/˘··
And I, where but sons and daughters abide,	10	······/˘˘/
Would have walked about, a priest!	7	·······
Take Snow-white back to her glimmering stall;	10	······/˘˘·
There let her stand and feed!--	6	······
I am overweening, ambitious, small,	10	······˘/˘·
A creature of pride and greed!	7	·/˘····
Let me wash the hoofs, let me be the thrall,	10	··········
Jesus, of thy white steed!	6	/˘····

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.

More by George MacDonald

A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems