Return!
Return, return! all night my lamp is burning,All night, like it, my wide eyes watch and burn;Like it, I fade and pale, when day returningBears witness that the absent can return,Return, return.
Like it, I lessen with a lengthening sadness,Like it, I burn to waste and waste to burn,Like it, I spend the golden oil of gladnessTo feed the sorrowy signal for return,Return, return.
Like it, like it, whene’er the east wind sings,I bend and shake; like it, I quake and yearn,When Hope’s late butterflies, with whispering wings,Fly in out of the dark, to fall and burn--Burn in the watchfire of return,Return, return.
Like it, the very flame whereby I pineConsumes me to its nature. While I mournMy soul becomes a better soul than mine,And from its brightening beacon I discernMy starry love go forth from me, and shineAcross the seas a path for thy return,Return, return.
Return, return! all night I see it burn,All night it prays like me, and lifts a twinOf palmèd praying hands that meet and yearn--Yearn to the impleaded skies for thy return.Day, like a golden fetter, locks them in,And wans the light that withers, tho’ it burnAs warmly still for thy return;Still thro’ the splendid load uplifts the thinPale, paler, palest patience that can learnNaught but that votive sign for thy return--That single suppliant sign for thy return,Return, return.
Return, return! lest haply, love, or e’erThou touch the lamp the light have ceased to burn,And thou, who thro’ the window didst discernThe wonted flame, shalt reach the topmost stairTo find no wide eyes watching there,No wither’d welcome waiting thy return!A passing ghost, a smoke-wreath in the air,The flameless ashes, and the soulless urn,Warm with the famish’d fire that lived to burn--Burn out its lingering life for thy return,Its last of lingering life for thy return,Its last of lingering life to light thy late return,Return, return.
Words in this poem
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
- yearn v. t.
- To pain; to grieve; to vex. [Also earn, ern; probably a corruption of OE. ermen to grieve, AS. ierman, yrman, or geierman, geyrman, fr. earm wretched, poor; akin to D. & G. arm, Icel. armr,]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- withers n.
- The ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse, at the base of the neck. See Illust. of Horse. [Properly, the parts which resist the pull or strain in drawing a load; fr. OE. wither resistance, AS. withre, fr. wither against; akin to G. widerrist withers. ]
- warmly adv.
- In a warm manner; ardently.
- votive a.
- Given by vow, or in fulfillment of a vow; consecrated by a vow; devoted; as, votive offerings; a votive tablet. [L. votivus, fr. votum a vow: cf. F. votif. See Vow.]
- suppliant a.
- Asking earnestly and submissively; entreating; beseeching; supplicating. [F., p.pr. of supplier to entreat, L. supplicare. See Supplicate, and cf. Supplicant.]
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- wonted a.
- Accustomed; customary; usual.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- flameless a.
- Destitute of flame. Sandys.
- soulless a.
- Being without a soul, or without greatness or nobleness of mind; mean; spiritless.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Return! is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900, Project Gutenberg ebook #66619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Sydney Dobell, Return!, in Poems (1824–1874), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-sydney-dobell/return.html, id L16235.
Form and metre
Return! is 48 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.3 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 27% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 ABABB burningA · burnB · returningA · returnB · returnB
- 2 ABABB sadnessA · burnB · gladnessA · returnB · returnB
- 3 ABABBB singsA · yearnB · wingsA · burnB · returnB · returnB
- 4 A-ABABB pineA · mourn · mineA · discernB · shineA · returnB · returnB
- 5 ABAABAABAAAA burnA · twinB · yearnA · returnA · inB · burnA · returnA · thinB · learnA · returnA · returnA · returnA
- 6 -AABBABAAAAAA e'er · burnA · discernA · stairB · thereB · returnA · airB · urnA · burnA · returnA · returnA · returnA · returnA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Return, return! all night my lamp is burning, | 11 | ˘/˘/·····/˘ |
| All night, like it, my wide eyes watch and burn; | 10 | ·········· |
| Like it, I fade and pale, when day returning | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Bears witness that the absent can return, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Return, return. | 4 | ˘/˘/ |
| Like it, I lessen with a lengthening sadness, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Like it, I burn to waste and waste to burn, | 10 | ·········· |
| Like it, I spend the golden oil of gladness | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| To feed the sorrowy signal for return, | 11 | ······/˘·˘/ |
| Return, return. | 4 | ˘/˘/ |
| Like it, like it, whene’er the east wind sings, | 11 | ··········· |
| I bend and shake; like it, I quake and yearn, | 10 | ·········· |
| When Hope’s late butterflies, with whispering wings, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Fly in out of the dark, to fall and burn-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Burn in the watchfire of return, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Return, return. | 4 | ˘/˘/ |
| Like it, the very flame whereby I pine | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Consumes me to its nature. While I mourn | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| My soul becomes a better soul than mine, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| And from its brightening beacon I discern | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| My starry love go forth from me, and shine | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Across the seas a path for thy return, | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Return, return. | 4 | ˘/˘/ |
| Return, return! all night I see it burn, | 10 | ˘/˘/······ |
| All night it prays like me, and lifts a twin | 10 | ·········· |
| Of palmèd praying hands that meet and yearn-- | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Yearn to the impleaded skies for thy return. | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Day, like a golden fetter, locks them in, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| And wans the light that withers, tho’ it burn | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| As warmly still for thy return; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Still thro’ the splendid load uplifts the thin | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| Pale, paler, palest patience that can learn | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Naught but that votive sign for thy return-- | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| That single suppliant sign for thy return, | 11 | ·/˘/˘˘···˘/ |
| Return, return. | 4 | ˘/˘/ |
| Return, return! lest haply, love, or e’er | 10 | ˘/˘/·/˘··· |
| Thou touch the lamp the light have ceased to burn, | 10 | ·········· |
| And thou, who thro’ the window didst discern | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| The wonted flame, shalt reach the topmost stair | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| To find no wide eyes watching there, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| No wither’d welcome waiting thy return! | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| A passing ghost, a smoke-wreath in the air, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The flameless ashes, and the soulless urn, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Warm with the famish’d fire that lived to burn-- | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Burn out its lingering life for thy return, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Its last of lingering life for thy return, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Its last of lingering life to light thy late return, | 12 | ···/˘·····˘/ |
| Return, return. | 4 | ˘/˘/ |
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