Songs of My City: II. In the Bazaars of Hyderabad
What do you sell, O ye merchants?Richly your wares are displayed.Turbans of crimson and silver,Tunics of purple brocade,Mirrors with panels of amber,Daggers with handles of jade.
What do you weigh, O ye vendors?Saffron and lentil and rice.What do you grind, O ye maidens?Sandalwood, henna, and spice.What do you call, O ye pedlars?Chessmen and ivory dice.
What do you make, O ye goldsmiths?Wristlet and anklet and ring,Bells for the feet of blue pigeons,Frail as a dragon-fly's wing,Girdles of gold for the dancers,Scabbards of gold for the king.
What do you cry, O ye fruitmen?Citron, pomegranate, and plum.What do you play, O musicians?Cithār, sarangī, and drum.What do you chant, O magicians?Spells for the æons to come.
What do you weave, O ye flower-girlsWith tassels of azure and red?Crowns for the brow of a bridegroom,Chaplets to garland his bed,Sheets of white blossoms new-gatheredTo perfume the sleep of the dead.
Words in this poem
- brocade n.
- Silk stuff, woven with gold and silver threads, or ornamented with raised flowers, foliage, etc.; -- also applied to other stuffs thus wrought and enriched. [Sp. brocado (cf. It. broccato, F. brocart), fr. LL. brocare *prick, to figure (textile fabrics), to emboss (linen), to stitch. See Broach.]
- lentil n.
- A leguminous plant of the genus Ervum (Ervum Lens), of small size, common in the fields in Europe. Also, its seed, which is used for food on the continent. [F. lentille, fr. L. lenticula, dim. of lens, lentis, lentil. Cf. Lens.]
- wristlet n.
- An elastic band worn around the wrist, as for the purpose of securing the upper part of a glove.
- anklet n.
- An ornament or a fetter for the ankle; an ankle ring.
- bridegroom n.
- A man newly married, or just about to be married. [OE. bridegome, brudgume, AS. br (akin to OS. br, D. bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. pr, MHG. briutegome, G. bräutigam); AS. br bride + guma man, akin to Goth. guma, Ic]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Songs of My City: II. In the Bazaars of Hyderabad is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring (London: William Heinemann; New York: John Lane Company, 1912), Wikisource; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Sarojini Naidu, Songs of My City: II. In the Bazaars of Hyderabad, in The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring (1912), text of Wikisource, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/naidu-bird-of-time/songs-of-my-city-ii-in-the-bazaars-of-hyderabad.html, id L27540.
Form and metre
Songs of My City: II. In the Bazaars of Hyderabad is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is dactylic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in dactylic trimeter.
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-A merchants · displayedA · silver · brocadeA · amber · jadeA
- 2 -A-A-A vendors · riceA · maidens · spiceA · pedlars · diceA
- 3 -A-A-A goldsmiths · ringA · pigeons · wingA · dancers · kingA
- 4 -ABABA fruitmen · plumA · musiciansB · drumA · magiciansB · comeA
- 5 -A-AAA girls · redA · bridegroom · bedA · gatheredA · deadA
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 dactylic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| What do you sell, O ye merchants? | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Richly your wares are displayed. | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| Turbans of crimson and silver, | 8 | /˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Tunics of purple brocade, | 7 | /˘·/˘˘/ |
| Mirrors with panels of amber, | 8 | /˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Daggers with handles of jade. | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| What do you weigh, O ye vendors? | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Saffron and lentil and rice. | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| What do you grind, O ye maidens? | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Sandalwood, henna, and spice. | 7 | /˘˘/˘·· |
| What do you call, O ye pedlars? | 8 | ········ |
| Chessmen and ivory dice. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| What do you make, O ye goldsmiths? | 8 | ······/· |
| Wristlet and anklet and ring, | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| Bells for the feet of blue pigeons, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Frail as a dragon-fly's wing, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Girdles of gold for the dancers, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Scabbards of gold for the king. | 7 | /˘····· |
| What do you cry, O ye fruitmen? | 8 | ········ |
| Citron, pomegranate, and plum. | 6 | /˘/˘·· |
| What do you play, O musicians? | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Cithār, sarangī, and drum. | 6 | ······ |
| What do you chant, O magicians? | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Spells for the æons to come. | 6 | ······ |
| What do you weave, O ye flower-girls | 8 | ······/· |
| With tassels of azure and red? | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Crowns for the brow of a bridegroom, | 8 | ······/· |
| Chaplets to garland his bed, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Sheets of white blossoms new-gathered | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| To perfume the sleep of the dead. | 8 | ·˘/····· |
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