On the Bay
When the salt wave laps on the long, dim shore,And frets the reef with its windy sallies,And the dawn's white light is threading once moreThe purple firs in the landward valleys,While yet the arms of the wide gray seaAre cradling the sunrise that is to be,The fisherman's boat, through the mist afar,Has sailed in the wake of the morning star.
The wind in his cordage and canvas singsIts old glad song of strength and endeavor,And up from the heart of the ocean ringsA call of courage and cheer forever;Toil and danger and stress may waitBeyond the arch of the morning's gate,But he knows that behind him, upon the shore,A true heart prays for him evermore.
When a young moon floats in the hollow sky,Like a fairy shallop, all pale and golden,And over the rocks that are grim and high,The lamp of the light-house aloft is holden;When the bay is like to a lucent cupWith glamor and glory and glow filled up,In the track of the sunset, across the foam,The fisherman's boat comes sailing home.
The wind is singing a low, sweet songOf a rest well won and a toil well over,And there on the shore shines clear and strongThe star of the homelight to guide the rover:And deep unto deep may call and wailBut the fisherman laughs as he furls his sail,For the bar is passed and the reef is dimAnd a true heart is waiting to welcome him!
Words in this poem
- landward adv.
- Toward the land.
- cradling n.
- The act of using a cradle.
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- lucent a.
- Shining; bright; resplendent. [L. lucens, p. pr. of lucere to shine, fr. lux, lucis, light.]
- rover n.
- One who practices robbery on the seas; a pirate. [D. roover a robber. See Rove, v. i.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Bay 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, On the Bay, in The Watchman and Other Poems (1916), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/montgomery-watchman/on-the-bay.html, id L29364.
Form and metre
On the Bay is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCCDD. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%).
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 ABABCCDD shoreA · salliesB · moreA · valleysB · seaC · beC · afarD · starD
- 2 ABABCCDD singsA · endeavorB · ringsA · foreverB · waitC · gateC · shoreD · evermoreD
- 3 ABABCCDD skyA · goldenB · highA · holdenB · cupC · upC · foamD · homeD
- 4 ABABCCDD songA · overB · strongA · roverB · wailC · sailC · dimD · himD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When the salt wave laps on the long, dim shore, | 10 | ·········· |
| And frets the reef with its windy sallies, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| And the dawn's white light is threading once more | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| The purple firs in the landward valleys, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘/˘ |
| While yet the arms of the wide gray sea | 9 | ········· |
| Are cradling the sunrise that is to be, | 10 | ·/˘·/····· |
| The fisherman's boat, through the mist afar, | 10 | ·/˘˘····˘/ |
| Has sailed in the wake of the morning star. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The wind in his cordage and canvas sings | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| Its old glad song of strength and endeavor, | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| And up from the heart of the ocean rings | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A call of courage and cheer forever; | 10 | ···/˘··˘/˘ |
| Toil and danger and stress may wait | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Beyond the arch of the morning's gate, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| But he knows that behind him, upon the shore, | 11 | ··········· |
| A true heart prays for him evermore. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| When a young moon floats in the hollow sky, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Like a fairy shallop, all pale and golden, | 11 | ··/˘/˘···/˘ |
| And over the rocks that are grim and high, | 10 | ·········· |
| The lamp of the light-house aloft is holden; | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| When the bay is like to a lucent cup | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| With glamor and glory and glow filled up, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| In the track of the sunset, across the foam, | 11 | ·····/·˘/·· |
| The fisherman's boat comes sailing home. | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| The wind is singing a low, sweet song | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Of a rest well won and a toil well over, | 10 | ·········· |
| And there on the shore shines clear and strong | 9 | ········· |
| The star of the homelight to guide the rover: | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| And deep unto deep may call and wail | 9 | ········· |
| But the fisherman laughs as he furls his sail, | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| For the bar is passed and the reef is dim | 10 | ·········· |
| And a true heart is waiting to welcome him! | 11 | ·····/˘·/˘· |
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.