Musings
Things are not as they were—one year another'sHistory obscures; my present and my past,Tho' linked in my life's annals like twin brothers,In separate moulds by destiny were cast.
With a free hand, in ardent friendship glowing,I gave my open heart, 'twas full and free;I gave it willingly—not caring, knowingHow very little it was prized to be.
And now they ask my heart—I don't retain it,I can't bestow it; answer I have none!And if I might, I would not now regain it;I have no heart, intruder! so be gone.
No more my spirit can with love be laden,Heartless, I can no longer dream of love,Now every sweet and fascinating maidenIs a pure angel smiling from above.
That was my thought, but now a new impressionHas taught me there are angels, not of light;And losing one, I can obtain possessionOf other angels as attractive quite.
A homely love was once the sun which lightedMy inmost soul; and now I but beholdA dull blank moon that leaves me half benighted,And glimmers coldly on my forehead cold.
Once on the grave I looked, and calmly sighing,After life's labours, welcomed its repose;Now will I dare my doom, and death defying,Be careless of life's cradle, course, or close.
I was as moulder's clay, smooth, soft and plastic,But now am marble; and repelling all,As a hard wall repels, with bound elastic,The ball flung violently 'gainst the wall.
Time was when a sweet maid, and white wine simmering,And the bright blaze of noon-tide suns were mine,Now but the dregs—a reckless wife—no glimmeringOf light, for me no single star shall shine!
Words in this poem
- annals n.
- A relation of events in chronological order, each event being recorded under the year in which it happened. [L. annalis (sc. liber), and more frequently in the pl. annales (sc. libri), chronicles, fr. annus year. Cf. Annual.]
- willingly adv.
- In a willing manner; with free will; without reluctance; cheerfully.
- intruder n.
- One who intrudes; one who thrusts himself in, or enters without right, or without leave or welcome; a trespasser.
- heartless a.
- Without a heart.
- homely a.
- Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate. [From Home, n.]
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
- coldly adv.
- In a cold manner; without warmth, animation, or feeling; with indifference; calmly.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Musings is in the public domain. This text is taken from Translations from Alexander Petofi, the Magyar Poet, by Sir John Bowring (London: Trübner & Co., 1866), Internet Archive, the John Bowring translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Sándor Petőfi, Musings, in Translations from Alexander Petofi, the Magyar Poet (1866), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petofi-poems-bowring/musings.html, id L29800.
Form and metre
Musings is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 ABAB another'sA · pastB · brothersA · castB
- 2 ABAB glowingA · freeB · knowingA · beB
- 3 ABAB itA · noneB · itA · goneB
- 4 ABAB ladenA · loveB · maidenA · aboveB
- 5 ABAB impressionA · lightB · possessionA · quiteB
- 6 ABAB lightedA · beholdB · benightedA · coldB
- 7 ABAB sighingA · reposeB · defyingA · closeB
- 8 ABAB plasticA · allB · elasticA · wallB
- 9 ABAB simmeringA · mineB · glimmeringA · shineB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Things are not as they were—one year another's | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| History obscures; my present and my past, | 11 | /˘˘˘/·/˘··· |
| Tho' linked in my life's annals like twin brothers, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| In separate moulds by destiny were cast. | 11 | ·/˘···/˘˘·· |
| With a free hand, in ardent friendship glowing, | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| I gave my open heart, 'twas full and free; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I gave it willingly—not caring, knowing | 11 | ···/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| How very little it was prized to be. | 11 | ·/˘/˘···˘·· |
| And now they ask my heart—I don't retain it, | 11 | ········˘/· |
| I can't bestow it; answer I have none! | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| And if I might, I would not now regain it; | 11 | ········˘/· |
| I have no heart, intruder! so be gone. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| No more my spirit can with love be laden, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Heartless, I can no longer dream of love, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Now every sweet and fascinating maiden | 12 | ·/˘˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Is a pure angel smiling from above. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| That was my thought, but now a new impression | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Has taught me there are angels, not of light; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And losing one, I can obtain possession | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘/˘ |
| Of other angels as attractive quite. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| A homely love was once the sun which lighted | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| My inmost soul; and now I but behold | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| A dull blank moon that leaves me half benighted, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| And glimmers coldly on my forehead cold. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Once on the grave I looked, and calmly sighing, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| After life's labours, welcomed its repose; | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘·˘/ |
| Now will I dare my doom, and death defying, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Be careless of life's cradle, course, or close. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| I was as moulder's clay, smooth, soft and plastic, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| But now am marble; and repelling all, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| As a hard wall repels, with bound elastic, | 11 | ····˘/··˘/˘ |
| The ball flung violently 'gainst the wall. | 10 | ···/˘˘˘··· |
| Time was when a sweet maid, and white wine simmering, | 12 | ·········/˘˘ |
| And the bright blaze of noon-tide suns were mine, | 10 | ·········· |
| Now but the dregs—a reckless wife—no glimmering | 12 | ·····/˘··/˘˘ |
| Of light, for me no single star shall shine! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
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