In Port
Out of the fires of the sunset come we again to our own—We have girdled the world in our sailing under many an orient star;Still to our battered canvas the scents of the spice gales cling,And our hearts are swelling within us as we cross the harbor bar.
Beyond are the dusky hills where the twilight hangs in the pine trees,Below are the lights of home where are watching the tender eyesWe have dreamed of on fretted seas in the hours of long night-watches,Ever a beacon to us as we looked to the stranger skies.
Hark! how the wind comes out of the haven's arms to greet us,Bringing with it the song that is sung on the ancient shore!Shipmates, furl we our sails—we have left the seas behind us,Gladly finding at last our homes and our loves once more.
Words in this poem
- furl v. t.
- To draw up or gather into close compass; to wrap or roll, as a sail, close to the yard, stay, or mast, or, as a flag, close to or around its staff, securing it there by a gasket or line. Totten. [Contr. fr. furdle, fr. fardel bundle: cf. F. ferler to furl, OF. fardeler to pack. See Furdle, Fardel, and cf. Farl.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Port is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Watchman and Other Poems (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1917; Toronto: McClelland, Goodchild and Stewart, 1916), Internet Archive; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: L. M. Montgomery, In Port, in The Watchman and Other Poems (1916), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/montgomery-watchman/in-port.html, id L29369.
Form and metre
In Port is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 own · starA · cling · barA
- 2 ABAB treesA · eyesB · watchesA · skiesB
- 3 ABAB usA · shoreB · usA · moreB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Out of the fires of the sunset come we again to our own— | 15 | ···/··/···˘/·/· |
| We have girdled the world in our sailing under many an orient star; | 18 | ··/˘···//˘··/·/˘·· |
| Still to our battered canvas the scents of the spice gales cling, | 15 | ··/˘/˘/˘······· |
| And our hearts are swelling within us as we cross the harbor bar. | 16 | ·/··/˘·······/˘· |
| Beyond are the dusky hills where the twilight hangs in the pine trees, | 16 | ····/˘···/······ |
| Below are the lights of home where are watching the tender eyes | 15 | ·········/˘·/˘· |
| We have dreamed of on fretted seas in the hours of long night-watches, | 16 | ·····/˘···/···/˘ |
| Ever a beacon to us as we looked to the stranger skies. | 15 | /˘·/˘·······/˘· |
| Hark! how the wind comes out of the haven's arms to greet us, | 14 | ········/˘···· |
| Bringing with it the song that is sung on the ancient shore! | 14 | /˘·········/˘· |
| Shipmates, furl we our sails—we have left the seas behind us, | 15 | /···/˘········· |
| Gladly finding at last our homes and our loves once more. | 15 | /˘/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
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.