To My Father
Here where you must travel far, before the mountainsRise above the boundaries of the Netherland,Here I love to look on Nature's quiet beauty,Freedom and repose surround me where I stand:Near the little hut in which I find my dwelling,When the songs of mirth their joyous echoes spread,Here an ancient man is master of the household—Blessings, blessings fall upon his hoary head!
Where my dwelling is, my meat and drink provided,To complain of either were a shame, a crime;While I wait on none, on me they all are waiting;No complaint, even when I enter after time.But one thing annoys me—when a word reproachfulTo the good old hostess by the host is said;Yet 'tis scarcely uttered ere he asks forgiveness—Blessings, blessings fall upon his hoary head!
Often do we talk of days and years departed,Why should happy years so hurriedly depart?Then he had a house, a garden, field and cellar,Many an ox and horse, and harvest-bearing cart.Thieves despoiled his household, and the o'er-flowing DanubeSwept his house away—and there, impoverished,Stood the ancient man amidst the desolation—Blessings, blessings fall upon his hoary head!
Now his sun of life in darkness has descended,And the old man asks for silence and repose;Who can tell the weight of sorrow on his shoulders?Who can tell the number of his wants and woes?He no day of rest—no sabbath-day can welcome,Early, late, he labours, for his daily bread;Oh! I mourn the lot of that old man—so weary—Blessings, blessings fall upon his hoary head!
When I smiling say—" a better fate awaits thee;"He just shakes his head—the comfort comes too late;"Let me journey on, my pilgrimage is ending,Peace will welcome me within the churchyard gate."Then I press him tight against my panting bosom—O what pangs are felt, what burning tears are shed!Is not that old man mine own beloved father?Blessings, blessings fall upon his hoary head!
Words in this poem
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
- hostess n.
- A female host; a woman who hospitably entertains guests at her house. [OE. hostesse, ostesse. See Host a landlord.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- desolation n.
- The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation. [F. désolation, L. desolatio.]
- pilgrimage n.
- The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life. [OE. pilgrimage, pelgrinage; cf. F. pèlerinage.]
- churchyard n.
- The ground adjoining a church, in which the dead are buried; a cemetery.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To My Father 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, To My Father, in Translations from Alexander Petofi, the Magyar Poet (1866), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petofi-poems-bowring/to-my-father.html, id L29848.
Form and metre
To My Father is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is trochaic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in trochaic hexameter.
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-B-B mountains · netherlandA · beauty · standA · dwelling · spreadB · household · headB
- 2 -A-A-B-B provided · crimeA · waiting · timeA · reproachful · saidB · forgiveness · headB
- 3 -A-A---- departed · departA · cellar · cartA · danube · impoverished · desolation · head
- 4 -AAA-B-B descended · reposeA · shouldersA · woesA · welcome · breadB · weary · headB
- 5 -A-A-B-B thee · lateA · ending · gateA · bosom · shedB · father · headB
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 trochaic hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Here where you must travel far, before the mountains | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| Rise above the boundaries of the Netherland, | 12 | ····/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| Here I love to look on Nature's quiet beauty, | 12 | ······/˘/˘/˘ |
| Freedom and repose surround me where I stand: | 11 | /˘·˘/˘/···· |
| Near the little hut in which I find my dwelling, | 12 | ··/˘······/˘ |
| When the songs of mirth their joyous echoes spread, | 11 | ······/˘/˘· |
| Here an ancient man is master of the household— | 12 | ··/˘··/˘··/· |
| Blessings, blessings fall upon his hoary head! | 11 | /˘/˘····/˘· |
| Where my dwelling is, my meat and drink provided, | 12 | ··/˘·····˘/˘ |
| To complain of either were a shame, a crime; | 11 | ·˘/·/˘····· |
| While I wait on none, on me they all are waiting; | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| No complaint, even when I enter after time. | 12 | ·˘//˘··/˘··· |
| But one thing annoys me—when a word reproachful | 12 | ···˘/····˘/˘ |
| To the good old hostess by the host is said; | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Yet 'tis scarcely uttered ere he asks forgiveness— | 12 | ··/˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| Blessings, blessings fall upon his hoary head! | 11 | /˘/˘····/˘· |
| Often do we talk of days and years departed, | 12 | /˘·······˘/˘ |
| Why should happy years so hurriedly depart? | 11 | ··/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| Then he had a house, a garden, field and cellar, | 12 | ······/˘··/˘ |
| Many an ox and horse, and harvest-bearing cart. | 12 | /˘·····/˘/˘· |
| Thieves despoiled his household, and the o'er-flowing Danube | 13 | ····/····/˘/˘ |
| Swept his house away—and there, impoverished, | 11 | ···˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| Stood the ancient man amidst the desolation— | 12 | ··/˘·˘/··˘/˘ |
| Blessings, blessings fall upon his hoary head! | 11 | /˘/˘····/˘· |
| Now his sun of life in darkness has descended, | 12 | ······/˘·˘/˘ |
| And the old man asks for silence and repose; | 11 | ······/˘·˘/ |
| Who can tell the weight of sorrow on his shoulders? | 12 | ······/˘··/˘ |
| Who can tell the number of his wants and woes? | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| He no day of rest—no sabbath-day can welcome, | 12 | ······/˘··/˘ |
| Early, late, he labours, for his daily bread; | 11 | /˘··/˘··/˘· |
| Oh! I mourn the lot of that old man—so weary— | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Blessings, blessings fall upon his hoary head! | 11 | /˘/˘····/˘· |
| When I smiling say—" a better fate awaits thee;" | 12 | ··/˘··/˘·˘/· |
| He just shakes his head—the comfort comes too late; | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| "Let me journey on, my pilgrimage is ending, | 12 | ··/˘··/˘˘·/˘ |
| Peace will welcome me within the churchyard gate." | 11 | ··/˘····/·· |
| Then I press him tight against my panting bosom— | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| O what pangs are felt, what burning tears are shed! | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| Is not that old man mine own beloved father? | 12 | ·······˘/˘/˘ |
| Blessings, blessings fall upon his hoary head! | 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.